Japan’s space agency says it hopes to forge a profitable launch business with its new H3 rocket

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOBISHIMA, Japan (AP) — Japan’s space agency and its prime contractor say they hope to be able to forge a profitable launch business with their new H3 rocket after its first successful flight last month in an increasingly competitive market dominated by Space X. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been developing the H3 as a successor to the soon-to-retire current mainstay H-2A. That rocket has a 98% success rate but high costs made it less competitive in the global market. An H3 project manager says they plan at least six launches a year to meet rapidly growing demand for communication, observation and security satellites.