H-IIB

For other uses, see H2B (disambiguation).
H-IIB[1]

Liftoff of H-IIB Flight 2
Function Launch vehicle
Manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Country of origin Japan
Size
Height 56.6 m (186 ft)
Diameter 5.2 m (17 ft)
Mass 531,000 kg (1,171,000 lb)
Stages 2
Capacity
Payload to LEO 19,000 kg (42,000 lb)
Payload to
GTO		 8,000 kg (18,000 lb)
Associated rockets
Family H-II
Comparable Ariane 5
Launch history
Status Active
Launch sites LA-Y, Tanegashima
Total launches 5
Successes 5
First flight 10 September 2009
Notable payloads H-II Transfer Vehicle
Boosters - SRB-A3
No. boosters 4
Length 15 m (49 ft)
Diameter 2.5 m (8.2 ft)
Gross mass 306,000 kg (675,000 lb) (for four SRB-As in total)
Propellant mass 263,800 kg (581,600 lb) (for four SRB-As in total)
Thrust Vacuum: 2,305 kN (518,000 lbf)
Total thrust Vacuum: 9,220 kN (2,070,000 lbf)
Specific impulse Vacuum: 283.6 s (2.781 km/s)
Burn time 114 seconds
Fuel HTPB
First stage
Length 38 m (125 ft)
Diameter 5.2 m (17 ft)
Gross mass 202,000 kg (445,000 lb)
Propellant mass 177,800 kg (392,000 lb)
Engines 2 LE-7A
Thrust Vacuum: 2,196 kN (494,000 lbf)
Specific impulse Vacuum: 440 s (4.3 km/s)
Burn time 352 seconds
Fuel LOX / LH2
Second stage
Length 11 m (36 ft)
Diameter 4.0 m (13.1 ft)
Gross mass 20,000 kg (44,000 lb)
Propellant mass 16,600 kg (36,600 lb)
Engines 1 LE-5B
Thrust Vacuum: 137 kN (31,000 lbf)
Specific impulse Vacuum: 448 s (4.39 km/s)
Burn time 499 seconds
Fuel LOX / LH2

H-IIB (H2B) is an expendable launch system used to launch H-II Transfer Vehicles (HTV, or Kounotori) towards the International Space Station. H-IIB rockets are liquid-fuelled with solid-fuel strap-on boosters and are launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. Mitsubishi and JAXA have been primarily responsible for design, manufacture, and operation of H-IIB. H-IIB made its first flight in 2009, and has made a total of five flights through 2015.

H-IIB is able to carry a payload of up to 8,000 kilograms (18,000 lb) to GTO, compared with the payload of 4,000-6,000 kg for the H-IIA, a predecessor design. Its performance to LEO is sufficient for the 16,500 kg (36,400 lb) HTV. The first H-IIB was launched in September 2009.

Development

H-II series

The H-IIB launch vehicle is a launch vehicle developed jointly by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle. The H-IIB was designed to adopt methods and components that have already been verified by flights on the H-IIA, so that manufacturing the new launch vehicle would be more cost-effective, with less risk, in a shorter period of time. JAXA was in charge of preliminary design, readiness of the ground facility, and the development of new technologies for the H-IIB, in which the private sector has limited competencies, while the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is responsible for manufacturing. JAXA successfully conducted eight firing tests of the new cluster design with the simulated first-stage propulsion system, called Battleship Firing Tests, since March 2008, at MHI's Tashiro Test Facility in Odate, Akita Prefecture.[2]

Before launch, two Captive Firing Tests were conducted on the H-IIB. The first test, which consisted of firing the first stage for ten seconds, was originally scheduled to occur at 02:30 GMT on 27 March 2009, however it was cancelled after the launch pad's coolant system failed to activate.[3] This was later discovered to have been due to a manual supply valve not being open.[4] The test was rescheduled for 1 April, but then postponed again due to a leak in a pipe associated with the launch facility's fire suppression system.[5] The test was rescheduled for 2 April,[6] when it was successfully conducted at 05:00 GMT.[7] Following this, the second test, which involved a 150-second burn of the first stage, was scheduled for 20 April.[8] This was successfully conducted at 04:00 GMT on 22 April,[9] following a two-day delay due to unfavourable weather conditions.[10] A ground test, using a battleship mockup of the rocket was subsequently conducted on 11 July.[11]

By 2009, the development program of the H-IIB had cost approximately 27 billion yen.[12]

Vehicle description

The H-IIB launch vehicle is a two-stage rocket. The first stage uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants and has four strap-on solid rocket boosters (SRB-A3) powered by polybutadiene. The first stage is powered by two LE-7A engines, instead of one for the H-IIA. It has four SRB-As attached to the body, while the standard version of H-IIA has two SRB-As. In addition, the first-stage body of the H-IIB is 5.2m in diameter compared with 4m for the H-IIA. The total length of the first stage is extended by 1m from that of H-IIA. As a result, the H-IIB first stage holds 70% more propellant than that of the H-IIA. The second stage is powered by a single LE-5B engine.[13]

Launch history

The first launch of the H-IIB occurred on 10 September 2009 at 1701 UTC. It successfully launched the HTV-1, which was on a mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS).[14]

Flight # Variant Date of Launch (UTC) Launch Location Payload Result Remarks
TF1 H-IIB 10 September 2009
17:01:46		 LA-Y2, Tanegashima Japan HTV-1 Success First flight of H-IIB
F2 H-IIB 22 January 2011
05:37:57		 LA-Y2, Tanegashima Japan HTV-2 Success
F3 H-IIB 21 July 2012
02:06:18		 LA-Y2, Tanegashima Japan HTV-3
Japan Raiko*1
Japan We Wish*1
Japan Niwaka*1
United States TechEdSat*1
Vietnam F-1*1		 Success *1CubeSats carried aboard HTV,on 4 October 2012 deployed from the ISS
F4 H-IIB 3 August 2013
19:48:46		 LA-Y2, Tanegashima Japan HTV-4
Japan Vietnam Pico Dragon*2
United States ArduSat-1*2
United States ArduSat-X*2
United States TechEdSat-3*2		 Success *2CubeSats carried aboard HTV for deployment from the ISS
F5 H-IIB 19 August 2015
11:50:49		 LA-Y2, Tanegashima Japan HTV-5
Brazil SERPENS*3
Japan S-CUBE*3
United States Flock-2b x 14*3
Denmark GOMX-3*3
Denmark AAUSAT5*3		 Success *3CubeSats carried aboard HTV for deployment from the ISS

Planned launches

F6 H-IIB 9 December 2016
13:26		 LA-Y2, Tanegashima Japan HTV-6 Planned

See also

References

  1. ↑ "JAXA | H-IIB Launch Vehicle". JAXA | Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
  2. ↑ "A new stage in Japanese space transportation". Tomihisa Nakamura. JAXA. 2007-07-15. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  3. ↑ "Postponement of the First Captive Firing Test (CFT) of the First Stage Flight Model Tank for the H-IIB Launch Vehicle". JAXA. 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  4. ↑ "The First Captive Firing Test for the First Stage Flight Model Tank for the H-IIB Launch Vehicle". JAXA. 2009-03-30. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  5. ↑ "Suspension of the First Captive Firing Test (CFT) of the First Stage Flight Model Tank for the H-IIB Launch Vehicle". JAXA. 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  6. ↑ "The First Captive Firing Test for the First Stage Flight Model Tank for the H-IIB Launch Vehicle". JAXA. 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  7. ↑ "Result of the First Captive Firing Test for the First Stage Flight Model Tank of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle". JAXA. 2009-04-02. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  8. ↑ "The Second Captive Firing Test for the First Stage Flight Model Tank for the H-IIB Launch Vehicle". JAXA. 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  9. ↑ "Result of the Second Captive Firing Test for the First Stage Flight Model Tank of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle". JAXA. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  10. ↑ "Postponement of the Second Captive Firing Test (CFT) of the First Stage Flight Model Tank for the H-IIB Launch Vehicle". JAXA. 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  11. ↑ "Results of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle Ground Test Vehicle (GTV) Test". JAXA. 2009-07-11. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  12. ↑ JAXA、H-IIBロケットの地上総合試験(GTV)について説明, Robot Watch, 2009-7-10
  13. ↑ "H-IIB" (PDF). H-IIB Launch Vehicle. Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. 2009-07-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  14. ↑ "Japan's space freighter in orbit". Jonathan Amos. BBC. 2009-08-10. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
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