The H3-30 is a variant of Japan's H3 launch vehicle, an expendable two-stage launch system developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Unlike other H3 variants, the H3-30 uses three LE-9 first-stage engines and no solid rocket boosters, making it the minimum-configuration version of the H3 family. It is launched from the Tanegashima Space Center.

Stats

Height: 63 m (207 ft)

Diameter: 5.27 m (17.3 ft)

Stages: 2

Boosters: 0

First-stage engines: 3 × LE-9

Payload to Sun-synchronous Orbit (SSO): up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb)

Payload to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO): approximately 2,000–2,300 kg (4,400–5,100 lb)

The second stage is powered by a single LE-5B-3 engine, an improved version of the LE-5B, and carries approximately 23 metric tons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant.

The H3 program is jointly managed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which are responsible for the vehicle's design, manufacture, and operation. The H3 family was developed to replace the H-IIA rocket while reducing launch costs and increasing competitiveness in the commercial launch market.

Credit: Wikipedia

Launch Area Y2 (LA-Y2) at the Tanegashima Space Center (TNSC) in Japan is one of the country’s primary rocket launch sites. TNSC is located on the southeast coast of Tanegashima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, offering an advantageous position near the equator that allows rockets to take better advantage of Earth’s rotational speed. This location provides efficiency benefits for launches into orbit and has made the site central to Japan’s space program.

LA-Y2 is specifically used for H-IIA and H-IIB rocket launches, which are Japan’s main medium-to-heavy lift vehicles. The H-IIA has been in service since 2001 and is used to place satellites into orbit, support interplanetary missions, and resupply the International Space Station (ISS). Its larger counterpart, the H-IIB, was used to launch the HTV cargo spacecraft for ISS resupply missions from 2009 to 2020. Both vehicles relied on LA-Y2 as their launch pad, with the site equipped with extensive ground support infrastructure, including mobile service towers, fueling systems, and flame trenches to safely handle the rockets.

The launch pad has seen many significant missions. Notable examples include the deployment of satellites for weather monitoring, Earth observation, and communications, as well as high-profile missions such as the Hayabusa 2 asteroid explorer launched in 2014 and cargo deliveries to the ISS. After the retirement of the H-IIB, LA-Y2 is still active for H-IIA launches, but with Japan’s new H3 rocket entering service, the center’s operations are gradually shifting focus to LA-Y3, the dedicated pad for H3.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.