Function | All-solid small orbital launch vehicle |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Nissan Motors [1] (-2000) IHI AEROSPACE (-2006) [2] |
Country of origin | Japan |
Size | |
Height | 30.8 m (101 ft) |
Diameter | 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) |
Mass | 137,500–139,000 kg (303,100–306,400 lb) |
Stages | 3 or 4 |
Capacity | |
Payload to low Earth orbit | |
Mass | 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) |
Payload to polar LEO | |
Mass | 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) |
Launch history | |
Status | Retired |
Launch sites | Uchinoura M-V |
Total launches | 7 (M-V: 4,M-V KM: 3) |
Success(es) | 6 (M-V: 3,M-V KM: 3) |
Failure(s) | 1 (M-V) |
First flight | M-V: 10 February 2000 M-V KM: 12 February 1997 |
Last flight | M-V: 22 September 2006 M-V KM: 9 May 2003 |
Type of passengers/cargo | HALCA,Nozomi, ASTRO-E,Hayabusa Suzaku,AKARI Hinode |
First stage –M-14 | |
Powered by | 1 solid |
Maximum thrust | 3,780.345 kN (849,855 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 246 s (2.41 km/s) |
Burn time | 46 seconds |
Propellant | Solid |
Second stage –M-24 | |
Powered by | 1 solid |
Maximum thrust | 1,245.287 kN (279,952 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 203 s (1.99 km/s) |
Burn time | 71 seconds |
Propellant | Solid |
Third stage –M-34 | |
Powered by | 1 solid |
Maximum thrust | 294 kN (66,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 301 s (2.95 km/s) |
Burn time | 102 seconds |
Propellant | Solid |
Fourth stage (M-V KM) –KM-V1 | |
Powered by | 1 solid |
Maximum thrust | 51.9 kN (11,700 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 298 s (2.92 km/s) |
Burn time | 73 seconds |
Propellant | Solid |
The M-V rocket,also called M-5 or Mu-5,was a Japanese solid-fuel rocket designed to launch scientific satellites. It was a member of the Mu family of rockets. The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) began developing the M-V in 1990 at a cost of 15 billion yen. It has three stages and is 30.7 m (101 ft) high,2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in diameter,and weighs about 140,000 kg (310,000 lb). It was capable of launching a satellite weighing 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) into an orbit as high as 250 km (160 mi).
The first M-V rocket launched the HALCA radio astronomy satellite in 1997,and the second the Nozomi Mars explorer in July 1998. The third rocket attempted to launch the Astro-E X-ray satellite on 10 February 2000 but failed. ISAS recovered from this setback and launched Hayabusa to 25143 Itokawa in 2003. The following M-V launch was the scientific Astro-E2 satellite,a replacement for Astro-E,which took place on 10 July 2005. The final launch was that of the Hinode (SOLAR-B) spacecraft,along with the SSSat microsat and a nanosatellite,HIT-SAT,on 22 September 2006.
Flight No. | Date and time,UTC | Rocket, configuration | Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M-V-1 | 12 February 1997 04:50:00 | M-V | Uchinoura M-V | MUSES-B (HALCA) [3] | Success | |||
| ||||||||
M-V-3 | 3 July 1998 18:12:00 | M-V | Uchinoura M-V | PLANET-B (Nozomi) | Success | |||
| ||||||||
M-V-4 | 10 February 2000 01:30:00 | M-V | Uchinoura M-V | ASTRO-E | Failure | |||
Failure of 1st stage engine nozzle caused control system breakdown and under performance. [4] [5] Later stages could not compensate for under performance leaving payload in 250 miles (400 km) x 50 miles (80 km) orbit and subsequent reentry. [6] | ||||||||
M-V-5 | 9 May 2003 04:29:25 | M-V | Uchinoura M-V | MUSES-C (Hayabusa) | Success | |||
| ||||||||
M-V-6 | 10 July 2005 03:30:00 | M-V | Uchinoura M-V | ASTRO-E2 (Suzaku) | Success | |||
| ||||||||
M-V-8 | 21 February 2006 21:28:00 | M-V | Uchinoura M-V | ASTRO-F (Akari) CUTE-1.7 + APD SSP (solar sail sub payload) | Success | |||
SSP failed to open completely | ||||||||
M-V-7 | 22 September 2006 21:36 | M-V | Uchinoura M-V | SOLAR-B (Hinode) HIT-SAT SSSat (solar sail) | Success | |||
SSSat failed after launch |
A follow on to the M-V, called the Epsilon Rocket, [7] features a lower 1.2 tonne LEO payload capability. The development aim is to reduce costs, primarily by using the H-IIA solid rocket booster as the first stage and through shorter launch preparation time. Epsilon launches are intended to cost much less than the US$70 million launch cost of a M-V. [8]
The first launch, of a small scientific satellite SPRINT-A (Hisaki), took place in September 2013. The initial launches will be of a two-stage version,[ citation needed ] of Epsilon, with up to a 500 kilogram LEO payload capability. [9]
Solid fuel rockets are the design of choice for military applications as they can remain in storage for long periods, and then reliably launch at short notice.
Lawmakers made national security arguments for keeping Japan's solid-fuel rocket technology alive after ISAS was merged into JAXA, which also has the H-IIA liquid-fuelled rocket, in 2003. The ISAS director of external affairs, Yasunori Matogawa, said, "It seems the hard-line national security proponents in parliament are increasing their influence, and they aren't getting much criticism... I think we’re moving into a very dangerous period. When you consider the current environment and the threat from North Korea, it's scary". [10]
Toshiyuki Shikata, a Tokyo Metropolitan Government adviser and former lieutenant general, claimed that part of the rationale for the fifth M-V Hayabusa mission was that the reentry and landing of its return capsule demonstrated "that Japan's ballistic missile capability is credible". [11]
At a technical level the M-V design could be weaponised quickly (as an Intercontinental ballistic missile, since only payload and guidance have to be changed) although this would be politically unlikely. [12] The M-V is comparable in performance to the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM.
An expendable launch system is a launch vehicle that can be launched only once, after which its components are either destroyed during reentry or discarded in space. ELVs typically consist of several rocket stages that are discarded sequentially as their fuel is exhausted and the vehicle gains altitude and speed. As of 2022, most satellites and human spacecraft are currently launched on ELVs. ELVs are simpler in design than reusable launch systems and therefore may have a lower production cost. Furthermore, an ELV can use its entire fuel supply to accelerate its payload, offering greater payloads. ELVs are proven technology in widespread use for many decades.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize.
Shavit 2 is a small lift launch vehicle produced by Israel from 1982 onwards, to launch satellites into low Earth orbit. It was first launched on 19 September 1988, making Israel the eighth nation to have an orbital launch capability after the USSR, United States, France, Japan, People's Republic of China, United Kingdom, and India.
H-IIA (H-2A) is an active expendable launch system operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. These liquid fuel rockets have been used to launch satellites into geostationary orbit; lunar orbiting spacecraft; Akatsuki, which studied the planet Venus; and the Emirates Mars Mission, which was launched to Mars in July 2020. Launches occur at the Tanegashima Space Center. The H-IIA first flew in 2001. As of February 2024, H-IIA rockets were launched 48 times, including 42 consecutive missions without a failure, dating back to 29 November 2003.
The Uchinoura Space Center is a space launch facility in the Japanese town of Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture. Before the establishment of the JAXA space agency in 2003, it was simply called the Kagoshima Space Center (鹿児島宇宙空間観測所) (KSC). All of Japan's scientific satellites were launched from Uchinoura prior to the M-V launch vehicles being decommissioned in 2006. It continues to be used for suborbital launches, stratospheric balloons and has also been used for the Epsilon orbital launch vehicle. Additionally, the center has antennas for communication with interplanetary space probes.
The Mu, also known as M, was a series of Japanese solid-fueled carrier rockets, which were launched from Uchinoura between 1966 and 2006. Originally developed by Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Mu rockets were later operated by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency following ISAS becoming part of it.
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HALCA, also known for its project name VSOP, the code name MUSES-B, or just Haruka (はるか) was a Japanese 8 meter diameter radio telescope satellite which was used for Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). It was the first such space-borne dedicated VLBI mission.
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, or ISAS, is a Japanese national research organization of astrophysics using rockets, astronomical satellites and interplanetary probes which played a major role in Japan's space development. Since 2003, it is a division of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
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H-IIB (H2B) was an expendable space launch system jointly developed by the Japanese government's space agency JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was used to launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station. The H-IIB was a liquid-fueled rocket, with solid-fuel strap-on boosters and was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. H-IIB made its first flight in 2009, and had made a total of nine flights through 2020 with no failures.
The Minotaur is a family of United States solid fuel launch vehicles derived from converted Minuteman and Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). They are built by Northrop Grumman via contract with the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Development and Test Directorate (SMC/SD) as part of the Air Force's Rocket Systems Launch Program which converts retired Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles into space and test launch systems for U.S. government agencies.
The J-I was a Solid-fuel rocket expendable launch vehicle developed by the National Space Development Agency of Japan and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science. In an attempt to reduce development costs, it used the solid rocket booster from the H-II as the first stage, and the upper stages of the M-3SII. It flew only once on a suborbital flight taking place 11 February 1996 UTC from Tanegashima Space Center pad LA-N, in a partial configuration, to launch the demonstrator HYFLEX. The vehicle never flew in the final orbital capability configuration, which should have launched the OICETS satellite.
Castor is a family of solid-fuel rocket stages and boosters built by Thiokol and used on a variety of launch vehicles. They were initially developed as the second-stage motor of the Scout rocket. The design was based on the MGM-29 Sergeant, a surface-to-surface missile developed for the United States Army at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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The Japanese space program originated in the mid-1950s as a research group led by Hideo Itokawa at the University of Tokyo. The size of the rockets produced gradually increased from under 30 cm (12 in) at the start of the project, to over 15 m (49 ft) by the mid-1960s. The aim of the original research project was to launch a man-made satellite.
The Epsilon Launch Vehicle, or Epsilon rocket, is a Japanese solid-fuel rocket designed to launch scientific satellites. It is a follow-on project to the larger and more expensive M-V rocket which was retired in 2006. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) began developing the Epsilon in 2007. It is capable of placing a 590 kg payload into Sun-synchronous orbit.
The H3 Launch Vehicle is a Japanese expendable launch system. H3 launch vehicles are liquid-propellant rockets with strap-on solid rocket boosters and are launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and JAXA are responsible for the design, manufacture, and operation of the H3. The H3 is the world's first rocket to use an expander bleed cycle for the first stage engine.
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SRB-A is a series of Japanese solid-fueled rocket booster manufactured by IHI Corporation for use on the H-IIA, H-IIB, and Epsilon rockets.
119. Japan has the weapons grade plutonium, technology for weaponization, and delivery means in the M-V-5 rocket, indigenous, solid fueled, 1800 kg payload capacity, to go nuclear very rapidly should it choose. This dramatic step, however, would require a complete loss of faith in the American nuclear umbrella