By BlueShift and AFP | 2026-06-15

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched its flagship H3 rocket from its primary spaceport, the Tanegashima Space Center, on June 12, delivering six small satellites into orbit.

JAXA's live YouTube broadcast showed scientists clapping and hugging each other in celebration following the launch, which is expected to strengthen the international competitiveness of the agency's rocket programs.

"The launch vehicle flew as planned, and the second stage of the H3 launch vehicle was injected into the predetermined orbit," JAXA said in a statement.

"Approximately 16 minutes and 4 seconds after the liftoff, the separation of the PETREL and STARS-X were confirmed," it said, referring to two of the small secondary satellites transported aboard the rocket.

"Additionally, based on the post-Earth orbit data from the second-stage vehicle, JAXA confirmed that the separation signals were sent to BRO-22, VERTECS, HORN-L and HORN-R," the other four microsatellites the H3 was transporting.

BRO-22 is a commercial maritime surveillance satellite developed by the French company Unseenlabs. JAXA-managed VERTECS is studying star formation, and Japanese-built PETREL is an Earth observation communications demonstrator.

Japan aims to become a global leader in space sustainability, with several of the satellites focused on the removal of space debris.

The two HORN satellites are designed to test how atmospheric resistance can safely pull dead satellites out of orbit to prevent space debris accumulation.

Operating together as a dual-antenna system, they will demonstrate a post mission disposal (PMD) device -- hardware designed to autonomously remove satellites or rocket stages from orbit once their operational lifespan ends.

Built by Japan's Shizuoka University, STARS-X will demonstrate space debris capture, deploying a 1 km tether and testing a robotic climber and net system.

Independent access to space

In 2025, the H3 carried out two orbital flights. The June 12 launch is an important sign of progress as JAXA aims to improve its launch success rate, targeting up to eight H3 launches a year.

The rocket used a new, simpler configuration with three main engines and no solid rocket boosters, per Japanese news agency Kyodo News.

At a briefing following the launch, Japan's chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara called the H3 "an essential core rocket" for ensuring Japan's independent access to space, the news agency reported.

The government will continue to support the development and improvement of key rockets, including the H3, he said.

Designed for "high flexibility, high reliability, and high cost performance," JAXA had celebrated five previous successful launches of the H3, but there also have been two failures, including one in December.

"We took last year's failure of the H3 rocket launch very seriously," JAXA president Hiroshi Yamakawa said June 12. "We have devoted our full efforts to thoroughly investigating the cause and devising countermeasures."

Japan hopes to capitalize on the H3's success to meet soaring global demand for satellite launches. Private companies also are racing to offer cheaper and more frequent space exploration opportunities than governments.

Tokyo-based Space One made its third attempt to become the first private Japanese firm to put a satellite in space in March, but the mission failed.

Amid the intensifying space race, JAXA landed in 2024 an unmanned probe on the moon -- albeit at a crooked angle -- making it just the fifth country to achieve what is known as a "soft landing."

But Tokyo-based firm ispace last year failed in its attempt to become the third private firm -- and the first outside the United States -- to achieve a controlled arrival on the moon.