(Update) Japan Successfully Launches Final H-2A Rocket
Tanegashima, Kagoshima Pref., June 29 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. successfully launched the last H-2A rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima in the small hours of Sunday.
The 50th unit of the H-2A rocket lifted off at 1:33 a.m. and put the GOSAT-GW greenhouse gas and water cycle observation satellite, nicknamed Ibuki GW, into the planned orbit about 16 minutes later.
The launch marked the conclusion of the H-2A program, which supported Japan's space development for 24 years. The H-2A series, which achieved a success rate of 49 out of the 50 launches, will be retired and fully replaced by the H3 series.
"We hope to carry out H3 launches, taking over the trust that has been built up" through the H-2A series, Iwao Igarashi, head of Mitsubishi Heavy's Space Systems Division, told a press conference.
The two-stage, liquid-fuel H-2A rocket was developed by the National Space Development Agency of Japan, now called the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA. The first H-2A unit was launched in 2001.
(2025/06/29-11:15)
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