M-3H
An extension of the first stage motor casing of the M-3C increased propellant to achieve a greater payload capability. The M-3H belongs to the same generation as the M-3C. It could send a 300 kg satellite into low earth orbit.
Japanese test satellite Tansei 3 was launched 1977-02-19 by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science of the University of Tokyo. The active lifespan of the satellite was expected to be about 2 weeks. Its functions were: 1) test of the overall performance of the newly developed launch vehicle, M-3H-1, 2) experiment of magnetic stabilization and, 3) observation of ultraviolet radiation.
Kyokko was launched 1978-02-04 by the Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science. This satellite was a part of Japan's contribution to the International Magnetospheric Study. The mission objectives were to observe the aurora borealis, study aurora-related phenomena, and study the ionosphere and magnetosphere. The main body of the spacecraft was a cylinder 0.946 m in diameter with shallow truncated cones attached at both ends. Most of the surface was covered with solar cells that produced 35 W. Two booms of roughly 1.9 m each extended outward from the equator of the main body. At the tip of each boom was a permanent magnet to provide alignment of the spacecraft center axis along the local geomagnetic field line. Two sets of circularly polarized quadrupole antennas, one for UHF (400 MHz) and another for VHF, extended from opposite ends of the spacecraft. The VHF antenna was diplexed for telemetry (136 MHz) and command (148 MHz). Other attitude sensors included a vector magnetometer and a solar sensor. The spacecraft contained a tape recorder to store 160 min of data at 512 bps or 40 min at 2048 bps, with readout in 10 min at 8192 bps. Besides the solar cells, there was a nickel-cadmium battery for nighttime operation.
The Jikiken mission, launched 1978-09-16, was part of the Japanese contribution to the International Magnetospheric Study, and it carried out coordinated observations with Kyokko. Investigations of correlated mechanisms between particles and fields and plasma turbulence were made with in situ measurement techniques using electrostatic particle analyzers. The spacecraft, a 12-sided polyhedron, carried extendable dipole antennas with lengths of 103 m and 69.6 m, and a 1-m boom for a vector magnetometer. A solar panel array provided 30 W into a battery and regulator system. The spacecraft spin stabilized at 150 rpm but dropped to 3 rpm when the two sets of antennas were extended. Attitude was measured with a sun sensor to an accuracy of 0.5 deg. A 0.5-w 136-MHz PCM/PM telemetry system handled 256 or 1024 bps, and a 2-w 400-MHz PM system handled wideband 10-kHz or 3-kHz data. Data acquisition was in real time except for a 10-Kbyte memory for housekeeping and plasma parameter data.
The vehicle M-3H-1 is described as follows
| 1st stage | SOB | 2nd stage | 3rd stage | 4th stage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total length | m | 23.80 | 5.794 | 8.895 (8.020) |
3.059 | 1.408 |
| Maximum diameter | m | 1.410 | 0.310 | 1.410 | 1.136 | 0.932 |
| Weight (ig.) | kg | 44714 | 4120 | 11307 | 1436.4 | 187.25 |
| Weight (b.o.) | kg | 17597 | 1371 | 3960 | 351.0 | 141.15 |
| Propellant weight | kg | 27098 | 2737 | 7195 | 1083.7 | 45.55 |
| Freon | kg | 56.0 | ||||
| H2O2 | kg | 84.7 | ||||
| Mass ratio | 2.540 | 2.996 | 2.817 | 4.087 | 1.323 | |
| Specific impulse | sec | 239 | 219 | 277 | 284 | 281 |
| Center of gravity (ig.) | % | 60.96 | 62.90 | 63.75 | 58.66 | |
| Center of gravity (b.o.) | % | 42.01 | 53.02 | 47.73 | 67.40 | |
| Ix (ig.) | kg.m.sec2 | 1839 | 305.8 | 18.60 | 1.281 | |
| Ix (b.o.) | kg.m.sec2 | 659.9 | 105.2 | 3.274 | 1.210 | |
| Iy (ig.) | kg.m.sec2 | 188107 | 3258 | 46.95 | 2.638 | |
| Iy (b.o.) | kg.m.sec2 | 83114 | 1928 | 22.96 | 1.483 | |
| Net payload | kg | 149.98 | SA 128.34 | |||
| Nozzle expansion ratio | 6.34 | 3.57 | 21.80 | 41.53 | 43.07 | |
| Nozzle exit diameter | mm | 1146 | 302.2 | 1078.3 | 696.0 | 229.7 |
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