Japan bid farewell to its workhorse H2A rocket Sunday as the vehicle completed its 50th and final mission, capping a 23-year legacy of advancing the nation's space capabilities. The predawn launch from Tanegashima Space Center carried the Ibuki-GW satellite – a climate monitoring tool developed by Japanese environmental and space agencies – to track greenhouse gas emissions from orbit.
Since its 2001 debut, the H2A achieved a 98% success rate, deploying critical satellites for weather forecasting, disaster response, and planetary exploration. Its retirement signals Japan's strategic pivot to the H3 rocket, designed to halve launch costs while doubling payload capacity to better compete in the global space economy.
"This transition represents more than technological evolution," noted a JAXA spokesperson. "It positions Japan as a key player in next-generation space infrastructure and Earth observation initiatives." The H3's enhanced capabilities could prove vital for climate research and commercial satellite deployment as Asia's space race intensifies.
