Vol. 51 No. 4 (2014)   Aerospace Technology
Technical Papers

Development of Japan's Next Flagship Launch Vehicle
- To compete and survive in the global commercial market -

ATSUTOSHI TAMURA
MAYUKI NIITSU
TAKANOBU KAMIYA
AKIHIRO SATO
KIMITO YOSHIKAWA

The conceptual design of Japan's next flagship launch vehicle, which replaces the H-IIA/H-IIB, began in 2014. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), designated as a prime contractor, is proceeding with the design. The primary objectives of the next flagship launch vehicle are to ensure "competitiveness in the global commercial market" and "assured access to space," while maintaining the domestic industrial base through launching a constant number of vehicles each year by obtaining orders for commercial satellite launches in addition to institutional missions. This report provides an overview of the three concepts of the next flagship launch vehicle; (1) launch capability and competitive price, (2) launch on customer's desired date and (3) a comfortable vehicle.