H-IIA

H-IIA rolls out to the launch pad, February 2014
Function	Medium-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Country of origin	Japan
Cost per launch	US$90 million[1]
Size
Height	53 m (174 ft)
Diameter	4 m (13 ft)
Mass	285,000–445,000 kg (628,000–981,000 lb)
Stages	2
Capacity
Payload toLEO
Mass	10,000–15,000 kg (22,000–33,000 lb)
Payload toGTO
Mass	4,100–6,000 kg (9,000–13,200 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	H-II family
Based on	H-II
Derivative work	H-IIB · H3
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Tanegashima,LA-Y1
Total launches	50 202: 35 204: 5 2022: 3 2024: 7
Success(es)	49 202: 35 204: 5 2022: 3 2024: 6
First flight	202: 29 August 2001 204: 18 December 2006 2022: 26 February 2005 2024: 4 February 2002
Last flight	202: 28 June 2025 204: 22 December 2021 2022: 14 September 2007 2024: 23 February 2008
Carries passengers or cargo	SELENE Ibuki Akatsuki Hayabusa 2 Emirates Mars Mission
Boosters –SRB-A
No. boosters	2–4
Height	15.1 m (50 ft)
Diameter	2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Maximum thrust	2,260 kN (510,000 lbf)
Total thrust	4,520–9,040 kN (1,020,000–2,030,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	280 s (2.7 km/s)
Burn time	120 seconds
Propellant	HTPB
Boosters (2022, 2024) –Castor 4A-XL
No. boosters	2–4
Height	12 m (38 ft)
Diameter	1.02 m (40.1 in)[2]
Gross mass	14,983 kg (33,031 lb)
Propellant mass	13,112 kg (28,906 lb)
Maximum thrust	765 kN (172,060 lbf)
Total thrust	1,531–3,061 kN (344,120–688,240 lbf)
Specific impulse	282.6 s (2.771 km/s)
Burn time	58 seconds
Propellant	HTPB/Al
First stage
Height	37.2 m (122 ft)
Diameter	4 m (13 ft)
Powered by	1 ×LE-7A
Maximum thrust	1,098 kN (247,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	440 s (4.3 km/s)
Burn time	390 seconds
Propellant	LH2 /LOX
Second stage
Height	9.2 m (30 ft)
Diameter	4 m (13 ft)
Powered by	1 ×LE-5B
Maximum thrust	137 kN (31,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	447 s (4.38 km/s)
Burn time	534 seconds
Propellant	LH2 /LOX
[edit on Wikidata]

H-IIA (H-2A) is a retired Japaneseexpendable launch system that was developed and operated byMitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in collaboration withJAXA. It was primarily used to launchsatellites intogeostationary orbit, interplanetary probes, and Earth observation missions. Notable payloads launched by the H-IIA includeAkatsuki, aVenus climate orbiter, and theEmirates Mars Mission, which was launched towardMars in July 2020. All launches were conducted from theTanegashima Space Center.

The H-IIA made its maiden flight on 29 August 2001 and flew a total of 50 times before its retirement on 28 June 2025. It achieved 49 successful launches, including a streak of 44 consecutive missions from 2003 to 2025. Management and production responsibility was transferred from JAXA to MHI on 1 April 2007, with Flight 13, carrying theSELENE lunar orbiter, being the first mission under private operation.^[3]

The H-IIA was derived from the earlierH-II launch vehicle and featured significant design changes aimed at improving reliability and reducing cost. Several variants were developed, with the final configuration, designated H2A 202, retired in 2025. A derivative design, theH-IIB, was introduced in 2009 and retired in 2020. The H-II series of launch vehicles have been succeeded by theH3 rocket, which conducted its first flight in March 2023.

The H-IIA hadtwo-stage core powered byliquid hydrogen andliquid oxygen, and various configurations ofboosters to provide additional thrust based on mission requirements.

The base and final active configuration, H2A 202, used twoSRB-A typesolid rocket boosters. Launch performance could be enhanced by adding up to two additional SRB-As for a total of four boosters, or by adding up to fourCastor 4AXL solid strap-on boosters (SSBs), for a total of six boosters.

H-IIA configurations were designated by a three- or four-digit code following the prefix "H2A":^[4]

• The first digit indicates the number of core stages (always 2).
• The second digit indicates the number ofliquid rocket boosters, which were planned but never developed (always 0).
• The third digit indicates the number of SRB-A solid rocket boosters (2 or 4).
• The optional fourth digit indicates the number of Castor 4AXL strap-on boosters (2 or 4).

Launch system status

The first H-IIA was successfully launched on 29 August 2001, followed by a string of successes.

The sixth launch on 29 November 2003, intended to launch twoIGSreconnaissance satellites, failed. JAXA announced that launches would resume in 2005, and the first successful flight took place on 26 February 2005 with the launch ofMTSAT-1R.

The first launch for a mission beyond Earth orbit was on 14 September 2007 for theSELENE Moon mission. The first foreign payload on the H-IIA was the Australian FedSat-1 in 2002. As of March 2015, 27 out of 28 launches were successful.

A rocket with increased launch capabilities,H-IIB, is a derivative of the H-IIA family. H-IIB uses two LE-7A engines in its first stage, as opposed to one in H-IIA. The first H-IIB was successfully launched on 10 September 2009.

For the 29th flight on 24 November 2015, an H-IIA with an upgraded second stage^[8] launched theTelstar 12V satellite, the first commercial primary payload for a Japanese launch vehicle.^[9]

• Comparison of orbital launchers families
• Comparison of orbital launch systems
• Comparison of retired orbital launch systems

Notes

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related toH-IIA.

• H-IIAArchived 12 October 2017 at theWayback Machine, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
• JAXA H-IIA English page

• Expendable space launch systems
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries space launch vehicles
• Vehicles introduced in 2001

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