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51-763: H-IIB ( H2B ) was an expendable space launch system jointly developed by the Japanese government's space agency JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries . It was used to launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV, or Kōnotori ) cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station . The H-IIB was a liquid-fueled rocket, with solid-fuel strap-on boosters and was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. H-IIB made its first flight in 2009, and had made

102-499: A battleship mockup of the rocket was subsequently conducted on 11 July 2009. By 2009, the development program of the H-IIB had cost approximately 27 billion yen. The H-IIB launch vehicle was a two-stage rocket. The first stage used liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants and had four strap-on solid rocket boosters ( SRB-A3 ) powered by polybutadiene . The first stage was powered by two LE-7 A engines, instead of one for

153-400: A small-lift rocket , and Ariane 6 , a medium -to- heavy-lift rocket. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup , a joint venture between Airbus and Safran . European space launches are carried out as a collaborative effort between private companies and government agencies. The role of Arianespace is to market Ariane 6 launch services, prepare missions, and manage customer relations. At

204-522: A core diameter of 1.25 m, with two liquid propellant stages, a single thrust chambered first stage and a two-thrust chambered, step-throttled second stage, the SLV has a lift off mass exceeding 26 tons. The first stage consists of a lengthened up-rated Shahab-3C . According to the technical documentation presented in the annual meeting of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs , it is

255-644: A joint venture between Airbus and Safran . European space launches are carried out as a collaborative effort between private companies and government agencies. The role of Arianespace is to market Ariane 6 launch services, prepare missions, and manage customer relations. At the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana , the company oversees the team responsible for integrating and preparing launch vehicles. The rockets themselves are designed and manufactured by other companies: ArianeGroup for

306-609: A launch system tailored for missions to polar and Sun-synchronous orbits. During 2002, the ESA announced the Arianespace Soyuz programme in cooperation with Russia ; a launch site for Soyuz was constructed as the Guiana Space Centre , while the Soyuz launch vehicle was modified for use at the site. On 4 February 2005, both funding and final approval for the initiative were granted. Arianespace had offered launch services on

357-449: A major customer of Arianespace, stated that: "Each year that passes will see SpaceX advance, gain market share and further reduce its costs through economies of scale ." By September 2014, Arianespace had reportedly to sign four additional contracts for lower slots on an Ariane 5 SYLDA dispenser for satellites that otherwise could be flown on a SpaceX launch vehicle; this was claimed to have been allowed via cost reductions; it had signed

408-515: A one-year contract with the ESA to study and prepare for a mission to the Moon to mine regolith . In 2020, Arianespace suspended operations for nearly two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Operations were suspended on 18 March and are, as of 29 April, expected to resume on 11 May. The return to operations will observe a number of new health and safety guidelines including social distancing in

459-424: A pipe associated with the launch facility's fire suppression system. The test was rescheduled for 2 April 2009, when it was successfully conducted at 05:00 UTC. Following this, the second test, which involved a 150-second burn of the first stage, was scheduled for 20 April. This was successfully conducted at 04:00 UTC on 22 April 2009, following a two-day delay due to unfavorable weather conditions. A ground test, using

510-660: 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 was 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 Ōdate , Akita Prefecture . Before launch, two Captive Firing Tests were conducted on

561-585: A single LE-5B engine, which was also propelled by a hydrogen/oxygen fuel and oxidizer. The first launch of the H-IIB occurred on 10 September 2009 at 17:01:46 UTC. It successfully launched the HTV-1 , which was on a mission to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) . Expendable launch system Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider . It operates two launch vehicles : Vega C ,

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612-473: A total of 11 contracts by that point, while two additional ones that were under advanced negotiations. At the time, Arianespace has a backlog of launches worth €4.5 billion with 38 satellites to be launched on Ariane 5 , 7 on Soyuz and 9 on Vega , claiming 60% of the global satellite launch market. However, since 2017, Arianespace's market share has been passed by SpaceX in commercial launches. Currently, Arianespace operates three launch vehicles: Since

663-453: A total of nine flights through 2020 with no failures. H-IIB was able to carry a payload of up to 8,000 kg (18,000 lb) to Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), compared with the payload of 4000–6000 kg for the H-IIA , a predecessor design. Its performance to low Earth orbit (LEO) was sufficient for the 16,500 kg (36,400 lb) H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The first H-IIB

714-462: A two-stage rocket with all liquid propellant engines. The first stage is capable of carrying the payload to the maximum altitude of 68 kilometres. The Israel Space Agency is one of only seven countries that both build their own satellites and launch their own launchers. The Shavit is a space launch vehicle capable of sending payload into low Earth orbit . The Shavit launcher has been used to send every Ofeq satellite to date. The development of

765-663: Is a launch vehicle that improved reliability while reducing costs by making significant improvements to the H-II, and the M-V was the world's largest solid-fuel launch vehicle at the time. In November 2003, JAXA's first launch after its inauguration, H-IIA No. 6, failed, but all other H-IIA launches were successful, and as of February 2024, the H-IIA had successfully launched 47 of its 48 launches. JAXA plans to end H-IIA operations with H-IIA Flight No. 50 and retire it by March 2025. JAXA operated

816-632: Is also an ELV customer, having designed the Titan, Atlas, and Delta families. The Atlas V from the 1994 Evolved ELV (EELV) program remains in active service, operated by the United Launch Alliance . The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) competition has selected two EELV successors, the expendable Vulcan Centaur and partially reusable Falcon 9 , to provide assured access to space. Iran has developed an expendable satellite launch vehicle named Safir SLV . Measuring 22 m in height with

867-528: Is tasked with developing and manufacturing the Ariane 6 carrier rocket. Industrial groups Airbus and Safran pooled their shares along with the French government's CNES stake to form a partnership company holding just under 74% of Arianespace shares, while the remaining 26% is spread across suppliers in nine countries including further Airbus subsidiaries. By 2004, Arianespace reportedly held more than 50% of

918-403: Is very experienced in development, assembling, testing and operating system for use in space. Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider . It operates two launch vehicles : Vega C , a small-lift rocket , and Ariane 6 , a medium -to- heavy-lift rocket. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup ,

969-631: The Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana , the company oversees the team responsible for integrating and preparing launch vehicles. The rockets themselves are designed and manufactured by other companies: ArianeGroup for the Ariane 6 and Avio for the Vega. The launch infrastructure at the CSG is owned by the European Space Agency , while the land itself belongs to and is managed by CNES ,

1020-399: The H-IIA . It had four SRB-As attached to the body, while the standard version of H-IIA had two SRB-As. In addition, the first-stage body of the H-IIB was 5.2 m in diameter compared with 4 m for the H-IIA. The total length of the first stage was extended by 1 m from that of H-IIA. As a result, the H-IIB first stage held 70% more propellant than that of the H-IIA. The second stage was powered by

1071-661: The H-IIB , an upgraded version of the H-IIA, from September 2009 to May 2020 and successfully launched the H-II Transfer Vehicle six times. This cargo spacecraft was responsible for resupplying the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module on the International Space Station . To be able to launch smaller mission on JAXA developed a new solid-fueled rocket, the Epsilon as a replacement to the retired M-V . The maiden flight successfully happened in 2013. So far,

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1122-470: The H10+ , was adopted for the Ariane 4, which raised the rocket's overall payload capacity by 110 kg and increased its burn time by 20 seconds. Even prior to the first flight of the Ariane 4 in 1988, development of a successor, designated as the Ariane 5 , had already commenced. In January 1985, the Ariane 5 was officially adopted as an ESA programme, and began an eleven-year development and test program to

1173-665: The Redstone missile to the Delta , Atlas , Titan and Saturn rocket families, have been expendable. As its flagship crewed exploration replacement for the partially reusable Space Shuttle , NASA's newest ELV, the Space Launch System flew successfully in November 2022 after delays of more than six years. It is planned to serve in a major role on crewed exploration programs going forward. The United States Air Force

1224-513: The prime contractor and held responsibility for performing the integration of all sections of the vehicle, while French engine manufacturer Société Européenne de Propulsion (SEP) provided the first, second and third stage engines (the third stage engines were produced in partnership with German aerospace manufacturer MBB ). Other major companies involved included the French firms Air Liquide and Matra , Swedish manufacturer Volvo , and German aircraft producer Dornier Flugzeugwerke . Development of

1275-530: The 1990s. Japan launched its first satellite, Ohsumi , in 1970, using ISAS' L-4S rocket. Prior to the merger, ISAS used small Mu rocket family of solid-fueled launch vehicles, while NASDA developed larger liquid-fueled launchers. In the beginning, NASDA used licensed American models. The first model of liquid-fueled launch vehicle developed domestically in Japan was the H-II , introduced in 1994. NASDA developed

1326-439: The Ariane 6 and Avio for the Vega. The launch infrastructure at the CSG is owned by the European Space Agency , while the land itself belongs to and is managed by CNES , the French national space agency. As of May 2021 , Arianespace had launched more than 850 satellites in 287 missions spanning 41 years. The company's first commercial launch was Spacenet 1 , which took place on 23 May 1984. In addition to its facilities at

1377-423: The Ariane launcher quickly mounted up; by early 1984, a total of 27 satellites had been booked to use Ariane, which was estimated to be half of the world's market at that time. As a result of the commercial success, after the tenth Ariane mission was flown, the ESA formally transferred responsibility for Ariane over to Arianespace. By early 1986, the Ariane 1, along with its Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 derivates, were

1428-439: The CSG, the company's main offices are in Évry-Courcouronnes , a suburb of Paris . The formation of Arianespace SA is closely associated with the desire of several European nations to pursue joint collaboration in the field of space exploration and the formation of a pan-national organisation, the European Space Agency (ESA), to oversee such undertaking during 1973. Prior to the ESA's formation, France had been lobbying for

1479-479: The ESA and CNES; Italy provided 65 per cent of funding while six additional nations contributed the remainder. In May 2004, it was reported that a contract was signed between commercial operator Arianespace and prime contractor ELV to perform vehicle integration at Kourou , French Guiana . On 13 February 2012, the first launch of the Vega took place; it was reported as being an "apparently perfect flight". Since entering commercial service, Arianespace markets Vega as

1530-536: The French national space agency. During the 1960s and 1970s, India initiated its own launch vehicle program in alignment with its geopolitical and economic considerations. In the 1960s–1970s, the country India started with a sounding rocket in the 1960s and 1970s and advanced its research to deliver the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 and the more advanced Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), complete with operational supporting infrastructure by

1581-517: The H-II with two goals in mind: to be able to launch satellites using only its own technology, such as the ISAS, and to dramatically improve its launch capability over previous licensed models. To achieve these two goals, a staged combustion cycle was adopted for the first stage engine, the LE-7 . The combination of the liquid hydrogen two-stage combustion cycle first stage engine and solid rocket boosters

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1632-404: The H-IIB. The first test, which consisted of firing the first stage for ten seconds, was originally scheduled to occur at 02:30 UTC on 27 March 2009, however it was cancelled after the launch pad's coolant system failed to activate. This was later discovered to have been due to a manual supply valve not being open. The test was rescheduled for 1 April 2009, but then postponed again due to a leak in

1683-584: The Shavit began in 1983 and its operational capabilities were proven on three successful launches of the Ofek satellites on September 19, 1988; April 3, 1990; and April 5, 1995. The Shavit launchers allows low-cost and high-reliability launch of micro/mini satellites to a low Earth orbit . The Shavit launcher is developed by Malam factory, one of four factories in the IAI Electronics Group. The factory

1734-518: The development of a new European expendable launch system to serve as a replacement for the Europa rocket. Accordingly, one of the first programmes launched by the ESA was the Ariane heavy launcher. The express purpose of this launcher was to facilitate the delivery of commercial satellites into geosynchronous orbit . France was the largest stakeholder in the Ariane development programme. French aerospace manufacturer Aérospatiale served as

1785-467: The dominant launcher on the world market. The Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 were short-lived platforms while the more extensive Ariane 4 was being developed; it was a considerably larger and more flexible launcher that the earlier members of its family, having been intended from the onset to compete with the upper end of launchers worldwide. In comparison, while the Ariane 1 had a typical weight of 207 tonnes and could launch payloads of up to 1.7 tonnes into orbit;

1836-516: The end of 2025. Arianespace "is the marketing and sales organization for the European space industry and various component suppliers." The primary shareholders of Arianespace are its suppliers , in various European nations. Arianespace had 24 shareholders in 2008, 21 in 2014, and just 17 as of October 2018 . In 2015, Arianespace shareholding was restructured due to the creation of Airbus Safran Launchers (later renamed ArianeGroup), which

1887-418: The first launch in 1996. It lacked the high levels of commonality that the Ariane 4 had with its predecessors, and had been designed not only for launching heavier payloads of up to 5.2 tonnes and at a 20 per cent cost reduction over the Ariane 4, but for a higher margin of safety due to the fact that the Ariane 5 was designed to conduct crewed space launches as well, being intended to transport astronauts using

1938-463: The larger Ariane 4 had a typical weight of 470 tonnes and could orbit payloads of up to 4.2 tonnes. Despite this, the Ariane 4 was actually 15 per cent smaller than the Ariane 3. On 15 June 1988, the first successful launch of the Ariane 4 was conducted. This maiden flight was considered a success, having placed multiple satellites into orbit. For the V50 launch onwards, an improved third stage, known as

1989-442: The modified Soyuz ST-B to its clients. On 21 October 2011, Arianespace launched the first Soyuz rocket ever from outside former Soviet territory. The payload consisted of two Galileo navigation satellites. Since 2011, Arianespace has ordered a total of 23 Soyuz rockets, enough to cover its needs until 2019 at a pace of three to four launches per year. On 21 January 2019, ArianeGroup and Arianespace announced that it had signed

2040-809: The most famous of them being the R-7 , commonly known as the Soyuz rocket that is capable of launching about 7.5 tons into low Earth orbit (LEO). The Proton rocket (or UR-500K) has a lift capacity of over 20 tons to LEO. Smaller rockets include Rokot and other Stations. Several governmental agencies of the United States purchase ELV launches. NASA is a major customer with the Commercial Resupply Services and Commercial Crew Development programs, also launching scientific spacecraft. The vast majority of launch vehicles for its missions, from

2091-415: The proposed Hermes space vehicle . Development of the Ariane 5 was not without controversy as some ESA members considered the mature Ariane 4 platform to be more suited for meeting established needs for such launchers; it was reportedly for this reason that Britain chose not to participate in the Ariane 5 programme. For several years, Ariane 4 and Ariane 5 launchers were operated interchangeably; however, it

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2142-468: The rocket has flown six times with one launch failure. In January 2017, JAXA attempted and failed to put a miniature satellite into orbit atop one of its SS520 series rockets. A second attempt on 2 February 2018 was successful, putting a four kilogram CubeSat into Earth orbit. The rocket, known as the SS-520-5, is the world's smallest orbital launcher. Roscosmos uses a family of several launch rockets,

2193-488: The third stage was a major focus point for the project - prior to Ariane, only the United States had ever flown a launcher that utilised hydrogen-powered upper stages. Immediately following the successful first test launch of an Ariane 1 on 24 December 1979, the French space agency Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) and the ESA created a new company, Arianespace , for the purpose of promoting, marketing, and managing Ariane operations. According to Arianespace, at

2244-436: The time of its establishment, it was the world's first launch services company. Following a further three test launches, the first commercial launch took place on 10 September 1982, which ended in failure as a result of a turbopump having failed in the third stage. The six remaining flights of the Ariane 1 were successful, with the final flight occurring during February 1986. As a result of these repeated successes, orders for

2295-488: The workplace. In 2023, Ariane 5 was retired with the introduction of new Ariane 6 , that conducted its maiden flight on 9 July 2024. In August 2024, the ESA agreed to allow Avio —the prime contractor for the ESA-funded Vega —to directly commercialize Vega C and seek non-governmental customers. Arianespace had handled marketing of Vega launches prior to that time. The transition is anticipated to be complete by

2346-447: The world market for boosting satellites to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). During the 2010s, the disruptive force represented by the new sector entrant SpaceX forced Arianespace to cut back on its workforce and focus on cost-cutting to decrease costs to remain competitive against the new low-cost entrant in the launch sector. In the midst of pricing pressure from such companies, during November 2013, Arianespace announced that it

2397-486: Was carried over to its successor, the H-IIA and H-IIB and became the basic configuration of Japan's liquid fuel launch vehicles for 30 years, from 1994 to 2024. In 2003, JAXA was formed by merging Japan's three space agencies to streamline Japan's space program, and JAXA took over operations of the H-IIA liquid-fueled launch vehicle, the M-V solid-fuel launch vehicle, and several observation rockets from each agency. The H-IIA

2448-587: Was considering requesting additional subsidies from European governments to face competition from SpaceX and unfavorable changes in the Euro-Dollar exchange rate. The company had halved subsidy support by €100m per year since 2002 but the fall in the value of the US Dollar meant Arianespace was losing €60m per year due to currency fluctuations on launch contracts. SpaceX had reportedly begun to take market share from Arianespace, Eutelsat CEO Michel de Rosen ,

2499-426: Was enacting pricing flexibility for the "lighter satellites" that it carries to Geostationary orbits aboard its Ariane 5. According to Arianespace's managing director: "It's quite clear there's a very significant challenge coming from SpaceX (...) therefore things have to change (...) and the whole European industry is being restructured, consolidated, rationalised and streamlined." During early 2014, Arianespace

2550-498: Was eventually decided to terminate all Ariane 4 operations in favour of concentrating on the newer Ariane 5. During the mid-1990s, French firms Aérospatiale and SEP, along with Italian firm Bombrini-Parodi-Delfino (BPD), held discussions on the development of a proposed Ariane Complementary Launcher (ACL). Simultaneously, Italy championed the concept of a new solid-propellant satellite launcher, referred to as Vega . During March 2003, contracts for Vega's development were signed by

2601-556: Was launched in September 2009 and the last H-IIB was launched in May 2020. The H-IIB was a space launch vehicle jointly designed, manufactured and operated by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle . The system 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

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