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H-IIB

Japan has been developing its own launch vehicles, based upon various researches and experiments. Among launch vehicles, the H-IIA launch vehicle has been supporting satellite launch missions as a major large-scale launch vehicle with high reliability.

It is the H-IIB launch vehicle that is an upgraded version of the current H-IIA launch capacity and will be expected to open the door to a new possibility for future missions, including cargo transport to the International Space Station (ISS) and to the Moon.

The H-IIB launch vehicle has two major purposes. One is to launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle "KOUNOTORI" (HTV) to the ISS. HTV will carry not only necessary daily commodities for the crew astronauts, but also experimental devices, samples, spare parts and other necessary research items for the ISS. The other is to respond to broader launch needs by making combined use of both H-IIA and H-IIB launch vehicles. In addition, H-IIB's larger launch capacity will make it possible to perform a simultaneous launch of more than one satellite, and will reduce the cost. This will contribute to ensuring vitalization of the Japanese space industry.

The H-IIB launch vehicle is a two-stage rocket using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellant and has four strap-on solid rocket boosters (SRB-A) powered by polibutadiene. The H-IIB has two liquid rocket engines (LE-7A) in the first-stage, instead of one for the H-IIA. It has four SRB-As attached to the body, while the standard version of H-IIA had two SRB-As. In addition, the H-IIB's first-stage body has expanded to 5.2m in diameter from 4m of H-IIA's one. It has also extended the total length of the first stage by 1m from that of H-IIA. At the result of such enhancement, the H-IIB needs propellant 1.7 times more than the former. Clustering several engines, whose performance is already fixed, has the advantage in shortening the period and reducing the cost for its development.

In September 2009, H-IIB Test Flight (H-IIB TF1) successfully launched the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) Demonstration Flight into orbit. Customers in the global satellite market from all around the world responded with piqued interest. MHI successfully completed the missions of the H-IIB flight No.2 and No.3, and then MHI started the launch services of the H-IIB from flight No.4 in 2013. Currently, the HTV is the main payload for the H-IIB launch vehicle Not long into the future, however, MHI planned to add the H-IIB launch vehicle to the launch service lineup. Until then, MHI will continue to build experience with HTV missions. The success of the H-IIB launches will allow MHI to deliver larger satellites to respond to many of the new needs emerging in the global market.

H-IIB Launch Vehicle Launch Capacity

H2B Launch Vehicle Configuration