On Sunday, an H3 rocket successfully launched from the Tanegashima Space Center. This is the fourth successful launch of this carrier. This time it put into orbit a satellite that will become part of the national navigation system.

Rocket launch
On the morning of February 2, a heavy H3 rocket was launched from the spaceport on the Japanese island of Tanegashima. Representatives of the space agency JAXA reported that it was successful, and thanks to it a new navigation satellite Michibiki 6 was in orbit.
This event is important for two rather different reasons. On the one hand, the fact of a successful rocket launch is important. H3 is considered a new carrier that replaced the previous one already in use for more than 20 years.
However, the commissioning of H3 was actually severely delayed, and the first launch was an emergency at all. Although it has already, including Sunday’s, been followed by four successful ones, the success of the project is still questioned, even though it has become quite small now.
Japanese satellites
Another important aspect of the launch is the satellite itself. Japan has been implementing its own QZSS regional navigation system project since 2018. It is based on satellites in geostationary orbit that constantly hover over the country and surrounding areas. The system does not cover the entire world like GPS, but in the part of the world where it works, connected devices from cell phones to cruise missiles are not dependent on another country’s decisions.
As the events of recent years have shown, this is a very important component of national security, and the idea of a navigation system that can be used in a limited area no longer seems so meaningless. So far, Japan has had four satellites for this purpose. So the one launched on Sunday will be the fifth.
And this is not the end. According to JAXA’s plans, there should be seven orbiting vehicles as early as 2026. Later, already in the 2030s, their number should be increased to 11. Both satellites and its own rockets are important in the context of answering the question of what Japan is today as a space power.
Until a couple decades ago, Japan was considered Asia’s main space country. However, China and India have made great leaps forward since then, and JAXA has had numerous problems. However, it is quite possible that they are only temporary.
According to phys.org