H-IIB

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For other uses, see H2B (disambiguation).
H-IIB
H-IIB F2 launching HTV2.jpg
Liftoff of H-IIB Flight 2
Function Launch vehicle
Manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Country of origin Japan
Size
Height 56.6 m
Diameter 5.2 m
Mass 531,000 kg
Stages 2
Capacity
Payload to LEO 19,000 kg
Payload to
GTO		 8,000 kg
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
Thrust 2,305 kN (518,000 lbf)
Total thrust 9,220 kN (2,070,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 283.6 s (2.781 km/s)
Burn time 114 s
Fuel HTPB
First stage
Engines 2 LE-7A
Thrust 2,196 kN (494,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 440 seconds (4.3 km/s)
Burn time 352 s
Fuel LOX/LH2
Second stage
Engines 1 LE-5B
Thrust 137 kN (31,000 lbf)
Specific impulse 448 seconds (4.39 km/s)
Burn time 499 s
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 Lua error in Module:Convert at line 272: attempt to index local 'cat' (a nil value). 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.[1]

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.[2] This was later discovered to have been due to a manual supply valve not being open.[3] 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.[4] The test was rescheduled for 2 April,[5] when it was successfully conducted at 05:00 GMT.[6] Following this, the second test, which involved a 150-second burn of the first stage, was scheduled for 20 April.[7] This was successfully conducted at 04:00 GMT on 22 April,[8] following a two-day delay due to unfavourable weather conditions.[9] A ground test, using a battleship mockup of the rocket was subsequently conducted on 11 July.[10]

By 2009, the development program of the H-IIB had cost approximately 27 billion yen.[11][clarification needed]

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.[12]

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).[13]

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

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 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
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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