Following earlier setbacks, Japan’s H3 rocket lifts off
S&T – SPACE
Japan’s flagship H3 rocket successfully blasted off on 12 June 2026, live footage showed, months after its previous mission to put a geolocation satellite into orbit ended in failure.
The H3 was developed to boost the international competitiveness of Japan’s rocket industry, and the country’s space agency has come under pressure to increase the success rate of launches.
The rocket has beenmooted as a rival to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, and could one day deliver cargo to bases on the moon.
The rocket — which was carrying six small satellites — lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.
The satellites loaded onto the rocket included Tokyo University of Science’s “Umitsubame”, which observes earth and other targets with a high-performance camera, and Shizuoka University’s “Shiraito”, which is testing space debris capture technology, according to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Designed for “high flexibility, high reliability, and high cost performance”, JAXA had toasted five successful launches of the H3 before, but there have been two failures, including the last one in December 2025 in which a second-stage engine terminated prematurely.
