Japanese H2A Rocket Carrying UK Satellite Successfully Launched... 39 Consecutive Successes

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The H2A rocket manufactured by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries successfully launched a British communications satellite on its 39th flight. This marks the fifth time the rocket has successfully launched a foreign satellite. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is reportedly set to actively enter the private space sector business utilizing rockets.

According to Japan's Kyodo News on the 23rd, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries successfully launched the 45th H2A rocket carrying a communications satellite from British satellite communications company Inmarsat at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Kyodo News reported that the satellite was deployed into its planned orbit about 26 minutes after the rocket launch.

The H2A rocket is a space launch vehicle jointly developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch satellites into geostationary orbit. Since the successful test launch of the first rocket in August 2001, all launches except the 6th in November 2013 have been successful. With the success of the 45th launch on this day, it set a record of 39 consecutive successful launches since the 7th launch in February 2005.

This is the fifth time Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has successfully launched an H2A rocket carrying a foreign satellite. Besides the UK, it has launched satellites for Australia, South Korea (2012 Arirang 3), Canada, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Naohiko Abe, head of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Defense and Space Division, expressed relief in an online press conference, saying, "I am relieved to have safely launched the satellite of our fifth foreign customer."

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