H3 (rocket)

H3 Launch Vehicle

A model of the H3 Launch Vehicle
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Country of origin	Japan
Cost per launch	US$50 million (H3-303S) [1]
Size
Height	63 m (207 ft) [2]
Diameter	5.27 m (17.3 ft) [2]
Mass	574,000 kg (1,265,000 lb) (Gross for H3-24L Variant) [3]
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload to SSO
Mass	4,000 kg (8,800 lb) (H3-30S/L) [2]
Payload to GTO (∆Ｖ=1500 m/s)
Mass	4,000–7,900 kg (8,800–17,400 lb) (H3-24S/L) [2][4]
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Tanegashima, LA-Y
Total launches	2
Success(es)	1
Failure(s)	1
First flight	7 March 2023
Last flight	17 February 2024
Type of passengers/cargo	ALOS-3
Boosters
No. boosters	0, 2 or 4
Powered by	SRB-3
Maximum thrust	2,158 kN (485,000 lbf) [3]
Specific impulse	283.6 s (2.781 km/s)
Burn time	105 seconds
Propellant	Solid
First stage
Powered by	2 or 3 LE-9
Maximum thrust	2,942 or 4,413 kN (661,000 or 992,000 lbf) [3]
Specific impulse	425 s (4.17 km/s)
Propellant	LH2 / LOX
Second stage
Powered by	1 LE-5B-3[3]
Maximum thrust	137 kN (31,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	448 s (4.39 km/s)
Propellant	LH2 / LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

The H3 Launch Vehicle is a Japanese expendable launch system. H3 launch vehicles are liquid-propellant rockets with strap-on solid rocket boosters and are launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and JAXA are responsible for the design, manufacture, and operation of the H3. The H3 is the world's first rocket to use an expander bleed cycle for the first stage engine.^[5]

As of July 2015^[update], the minimum configuration is to carry a payload of up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) for about 5 billion yen, and the maximum configuration is to carry more than 6,500 kg (14,300 lb) into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).^[2] The H3-24 variant will deliver more than 6,000 kg (13,000 lb) of payload to lunar transfer orbit (TLI) and 8,800 kg (19,400 lb) of payload to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)(∆Ｖ=1830 m/s).