The Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), also known as Michibiki, is a four-satellite regional satellite navigation system and a satellite-based augmentation system developed by the Japanese government to enhance the United States-operated Global Positioning System (GPS) in the Asia-Oceania regions, with a focus on Japan. The goal of QZSS is to provide highly precise and stable positioning services in the Asia-Oceania region, compatible with GPS. Four-satellite QZSS services were available on a trial basis as of 12 January 2018, and officially started on 1 November 2018. A satellite navigation system independent of GPS is planned for 2023 with seven satellites. In May 2023 it was announced that the system would expand to eleven satellites.

QZSS uses one geostationary satellite and three satellites in Tundra-type highly inclined, slightly elliptical, geosynchronous orbits. Each orbit is 120° apart from the other two. Because of this inclination, they are not geostationary; they do not remain in the same place in the sky. Instead, their ground traces are asymmetrical figure-8 patterns (analemmas), designed to ensure that one is almost directly overhead (elevation 60° or more) over Japan at all times.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

The H3 Launch Vehicle is an expendable launch system with two stages. It is a liquid-propellant rocket with strap-on solid rocket boosters and will be launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.

Stats

Height: 63 m (207 ft).

Diameter: 5.27 m (17.3 ft).

Stages: 2

Boosters: 0, 2 or 4

Payload to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO): 4,000 kg (8,800 lb).

Payload to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO): 4,000–7,900 kg (8,800–17,400 lb).

The first stage uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants and carries zero, two or four strap-on solid rocket boosters (SRBs) using polybutadiene fuel. The first stage is powered by two or three LE-9 engines which uses an expander bleed cycle design. The fuel and oxidizer mass of the first stage is 225 metric tons. The second stage is powered by a single engine which is an improved LE-5B. The propellant mass of the second stage is 23 metric tons.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and JAXA are responsible for the design, manufacture, and operation of the H3. It is the world's first rocket to use an expander bleed cycle for the first stage engine.

The minimum configuration is to carry a payload of up to 4,000 kg (8,800 lb) into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) for about 5 billion yen (38.1 million USD), and the maximum configuration is to carry more than 6,500 kg (14,300 lb) into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

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.