H-IIA

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For other uses, see H2A (disambiguation).
H-IIA
Liftoff of H-IIA Flight 19
Liftoff of H-IIA Flight 19
Function Launch vehicle
Manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Country of origin Japan
Size
Height 53 m (173 ft)
Diameter 4 m (13.1 ft)
Mass 445,000 kg (981,057 lb)
Stages 2
Capacity
Payload to LEO 10,000 - 15,000 kg (22,046 - 33,069 lb)
Payload to
GTO		 4,100 - 6,000 kg (9,038 - 13,227 lb)
Launch history
Status Active
Launch sites LA-Y, Tanegashima
Total launches 20
(202: 9, 204: 1, 2022: 3, 2024: 7)
Successes 19
(202: 9, 204: 1, 2022: 3, 2024: 6)
Failures 1 (2024)
Maiden flight 202: 29 August 2001
204: 18 December 2006
2022: 26 February 2005
2024: 4 February 2002
Notable payloads SELENE
Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite
Akatsuki
Boosters (All Variants) - SRB-A, SRB-A3
No. boosters 2 - 4
Engines 1 Solid
Thrust 4,520 - 9,040kN (SRB-A)
Specific impulse 280 sec
Burn time 120 seconds
Fuel Solid
Boosters (H-IIA 2022/2024) - Castor 4AXL
No boosters 2 - 4
Engines 1 Solid
Thrust (1,490 - 2,980kN)
Specific impulse 283 sec
Burn time 60 seconds
Fuel Solid
First stage
Engines 1 LE-7A
Thrust 1,098 kN (246,840 lbf)
Specific impulse 440 sec
Burn time 390 seconds
Fuel LOX/LH2
Second stage
Engines 1 LE-5B
Thrust 137 kN (30,798 lbf)
Specific impulse 447 sec
Burn time 534 seconds
Fuel LOX/LH2
Liftoff of H-IIA Flight 11
H-IIA rocket lineup
H-IIA

H-IIA (H2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The liquid-fueled H-IIA rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit, to launch a lunar orbiting spacecraft, and to launch an interplanetary space probe to Venus. Launches occur at the Tanegashima Space Center. Production and management of the H-IIA shifted from JAXA to MHI on April 1, 2007. Flight 13, which launched the lunar orbiter SELENE, was the first H-IIA launched after this privatization.[1]

The H-IIA is a derivative of the earlier H-II rocket, substantially redesigned to improve reliability and minimize costs. There are four different variants of the H-IIA for various purposes.

The success rate of 95% of the H-2A is on a par with 96.4 percent for the Atlas V of the United States and 94.9 percent for the European Ariane 5.[2]

Contents

[edit] Vehicle description

The launch capability of an H-IIA launch vehicle can be enhanced by adding SRB-A (solid rocket booster or SRB) and Castor 4AXL (solid strap-on booster or SSB) to its basic configuration, creating a "family". The models are indicated by three or four numbers following the prefix "H2A". The first number in the sequence indicates the number of stages; the second the number of LRBs (Liquid rocket boosters); the third the number of SRBs; and, if present, the fourth number shows the number of SSBs.[3] The first two figures are virtually fixed at "20", as H-IIA is always two-staged, and the plans for LRBs were cancelled and superseded by the H-IIB.

[edit] Variants

As of 2007 there are four different configurations shown in the following table.

Designation Mass (tonnes) Payload (tonnes to GTO) Addon modules
H2A202 285 4.1 2 SRB-A (SRB)
H2A2022 (retired)[4] 316 4.5 2 SRB-A (SRB) + 2 Castor 4AXL (SSB)
H2A2024 (retired) 347 5 2 SRB-A (SRB) + 4 Castor 4AXL (SSB)
H2A204 445 6 4 SRB-A (SRB)
H2A212 (cancelled) 403 7.5 2 SRB-A (SRB) + 1 LRB
H2A222 (cancelled) 520 9.5 2 SRB-A (SRB) + 2 LRBs

[edit] Launch history

The H-IIA was first launched on August 29, 2001, and the sixth launch on November 29, 2003 failed. The rocket was intended to launch two reconnaissance satellites to observe North Korea[citation needed]. JAXA announced that launches would resume in 2005, and indeed the first successful flight took place on February 26 with the launch of MTSAT-1R.

The first launch for a mission beyond Earth orbit was on September 14, 2007 for the SELENE moon mission. The first foreign payload on the H-IIA was the Australian FedSat-1 in 2002. As of January 2011, 17 out of 18 launches were successful.

A rocket with increased launch capabilities, H-IIB, is a derivative of the H-IIA family. H-IIB uses two LE-7A engines in its first stage, as opposed to one in H-IIA. The first H-IIB was successfully launched on September 10, 2009.

Date (UTC) Flight Type Payload Result
August 29, 2001
07:00:00		 TF1 H2A202 Japan VEP 2
Japan LRE		 Success
February 4, 2002
02:45:00		 TF2 H2A2024 Japan VEP 3
Japan MDS-1 (Tsubasa)
Japan DASH		 Success
September 10, 2002
08:20:00		 F3 H2A2024 Japan USERS
Japan DRTS (Kodama)		 Success
December 14, 2002
01:31:00		 F4 H2A202 Japan ADEOS 2 (Midori 2)
Japan WEOS (Kanta-kun)
Australia FedSat 1
Japan Micro LabSat 1		 Success
March 28, 2003
01:27:00		 F5 H2A2024 Japan IGS-Optical 1
Japan IGS-Radar 1		 Success
November 29, 2003
04:33:00		 F6 H2A2024 Japan IGS-Optical (2)
Japan IGS-Radar (2)		 Failure
February 26, 2005
09:25:00		 F7 H2A2022 Japan MTSAT-1R (Himawari 6) Success
January 24, 2006
01:33:00		 F8 H2A2022 Japan ALOS (Daichi) Success
February 18, 2006
06:27:00		 F9 H2A2024 Japan MTSAT-2 (Himawari 7) Success
September 11, 2006
04:35:00		 F10 H2A202 Japan IGS-Optical 2 Success
December 18, 2006
06:32:00		 F11 H2A204 Japan ETS-VIII (Kiku 8) Success
February 24, 2007
04:41:00		 F12 H2A2024 Japan IGS-Radar 2
Japan IGS-Optical 3V		 Success
September 14, 2007
01:31:01		 F13 H2A2022 Japan SELENE (Kaguya) Success
February 23, 2008
08:55:00		 F14 H2A2024 Japan WINDS (Kizuna) Success
January 23, 2009
03:54:00		 F15 H2A202 Japan GOSAT (Ibuki)
Japan SDS-1
Japan STARS (Kūkai)
Japan KKS-1 (Kiseki)
Japan PRISM (Hitomi)
Japan Sohla-1 (Maido 1)
Japan SORUNSAT-1 (Kagayaki)
Japan SPRITE-SAT (Raijin)		 Success[5]
November 28, 2009
01:21:00 [6]		 F16 H2A202 Japan IGS-Optical 3
 Success
May 20, 2010
21:58:22[7][8][9]		 F17 H2A202[10] Japan PLANET-C (Akatsuki)
Japan IKAROS
Japan UNITEC-1 (Shin'en)
Japan Waseda-SAT2
Japan K-Sat (Hayato)
Japan Negai☆		 Success
September 11, 2010
11:17:00[11]		 F18 H2A202 Japan QZS-1 (Michibiki) Success
September 23, 2011
04:36:50 [12]		 F19 H2A202 Japan IGS-Optical 4 Success
December 12, 2011
01:21:00 [13]		 F20 H2A202 Japan IGS-Radar 3 Success
Planned launches
early 2012[14] F21 Japan GCOM-W1
South Korea KOMPSAT-3

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Mitsubishi and Arianespace Combine Commercial Satellite Launch Services". SatNews. http://www.satnews.com/stories2007/4356/. 
  2. ^ "Launch lifts H-2A rocket's success rate to 95%". The Asahi Shimbun. December 12, 2011. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201112120037.  (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/63tfmFtGR
  3. ^ "H-IIA Launch Vehicle" (PDF). JAXA. pp. 2. http://www.jaxa.jp/pr/brochure/pdf/01/rocket01.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  4. ^ 三菱重工、「H2A」2機種に半減・民営化でコスト減. NIKKEI NET
  5. ^ "Launch Result of the IBUKI (GOSAT) by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 15". MHI and JAXA. January 23, 2009. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/01/20090123_h2a-f15_e.html. 
  6. ^ "H-IIA F16". Sorae. http://www.sorae.jp/030801/3328.html. 
  7. ^ "Launch Day of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 17". JAXA. March 3, 2010. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/03/20100303_h2af17_e.html. 
  8. ^ "Overview of Secondary Payloads". JAXA. http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f17/overview/sub_payload_e.html. 
  9. ^ Tariq Malik (18 May 2010). "New Venus Probe to Launch Thursday From Japan After". space.com. http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/japan-venus-probe-launch-thursday-100518.html. Retrieved 20 May 2010. 
  10. ^ Chris Bergin (17 May 2010). "JAXA launch H-IIA carrying AKATSUKI and IKAROS scrubbed". NASASpacflight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/05/axa-launch-h-iia-carrying-akatsuki-ikaros/. Retrieved 17 May 2010. 
  11. ^ "New Launch Day of the First Quasi-Zenith Satellite 'MICHIBIKI' by H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 18". JAXA. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2010/08/20100804_michibiki_e.html. 
  12. ^ Chris Bergin (23 September 2011). "Japanese H-2A launches with new IGS military satellite". NASASpaceflight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/09/japanese-h-2a-launches-new-igs-military-satellite/. 
  13. ^ Chris Bergin (11 December 2011). "Japanese H-2A lofts IGS (Radar-3) satellite into orbit". NASASpaceflight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/12/japanese-h-2a-lofts-igs-radar-3-satellite-into-orbit/. 
  14. ^ "MHI Receives Order for Launch Services of Korea Multipurpose Satellite-3". MHI. January 12, 2009. http://www.mhi.co.jp/en/news/story/0901121270.html. 

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