Latest news with #H2A
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 days ago
- Science
- Yomiuri Shimbun
JAXA Reports No Problems in H3 Engine Firing Test; Latest Rocket, Unlike Others, Has No Boosters
An engine firing test for the new mainstay H3 rocket was conducted without any major problems at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Thursday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The test involved a new type of H3 without rocket boosters and is part of a process that aims to reduce the cost of launches to ¥5 billion, half the price of the previous mainstay H2A's launches. The firing test, which marked the final stage of this process, finished without any significant problems. JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. have jointly developed the H3. Thursday's test involved the sixth H3 rocket, which is a Type 30 test vehicle that has three main engines and no boosters. The three main engines were fired for 25 seconds while the rocket remained attached to the launchpad. JAXA will check acceleration, temperature and other data collected during the test. Successfully launched H3 rockets have so far had two main engines and two boosters. The H2A rocket that was retired last month had either two or four boosters, but none of the H2A rockets was boosterless. If JAXA confirms the rocket performed as expected during the firing test, it will be scheduled to blast off carrying dummy satellites and other cargo before the end of fiscal 2025, which runs through March 2026. Later H3 rockets are scheduled to launch satellites including the government's information-gathering satellites from fiscal 2026 onward.
New York Post
10-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says farm workers won't get amnesty — after Trump floated the idea
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins clarified that President Trump has no plans to give amnesty to farm workers, despite his recent comments hinting at leniency. Trump has expressed concerns that aggressive deportation efforts have battered farms, but Rollins explained that there are existing programs the administration will use — rather than amnesty. 'Listen, this president has been resolute on no amnesty, mass deportation — but there are programs currently within the government under Lori Chavez de Rimmer, our secretary, our great secretary of labor, the H2A visa program,' Rollins told Fox Business' 'Mornings with Maria' on Thursday. 'This president, his heart is with the farmers,' she added. 'It always has been. And we will work nonstop until we find the right solution, but it does not include amnesty and certainly moving toward the American workforce that he envisions.' Over recent weeks, Trump has made vague comments about needing to mitigate the repercussions that his mass deportation effort has had on farms. 3 Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins clarified that illegal immigrant farm workers won't get amnesty. FRANCIS CHUNG/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 3 President Trump has said that his initial hardline deportation effort was hurting farmers and the leisure business. AP 'If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people in some way,' the president mused during his rally-style event in Iowa last week. 'I think we're going to have to just say that's going to be good, right? We don't want to do it where we take all of the workers off the farms.' Elements of the MAGA base such as 'War Room' host Steve Bannon seemed uneasy that an amnesty policy of sorts could be in the works. Trump had taken a hardline against immigration since the start of his second term. White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, a hawk on immigration, is widely believed to be playing a critical role in putting pressure on enforcement agencies to step up their game. But last month on Truth Social, Trump had signaled plans to ease up. 'Our great farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,' he wrote. 'That is not good…Changes are coming!' 3 President Trump's team is exploring policy options to ease the burden on farms from the mass deportation campaign. AP Farms have been an important part of Trump's base. Rollins teased that the Trump administration is exploring policy options to better 'effectuate the president's vision' on that front. 'At the end of the day, moving toward an American workforce based on automation, a lot of able-bodied adults in this country who are not working, we will get there,' she added. Rollins also defended her decision to shutdown live cattle, bison, and horse trading across the US-Mexico border due to the rapid spread of flesh-eating New World Screwworms. 'Last night, about 10 o'clock, we shut down the ports. No more imports from Mexico with live animals due to the New World Screwworm, another threat to our homeland,' she explained. 'We shut the border down earlier, about two months ago, and we were able to push the pest back, partnering with Mexico. But it started to trickle back up within about 500 miles of our border. So we had to shut it down again,' Rollins went on. 'These inactions that were never taken by the Biden administration, we are now having to deal with.'
NZ Herald
01-07-2025
- Science
- NZ Herald
H2A rocket retires; Japan's space industry eyes H3 for market success
The H2A rocket, which was retired on Sunday after the model's 50th launch, delivered many satellites vital for scientific research and Japan's social infrastructure into space. However, it failed to win enough orders for commercial launches, a problem that has been passed on to its successor, the H3. 'Over
Yomiuri Shimbun
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
H2A Rocket: Pass Advanced Technology on to Next Generation
Japan's mainstay large H2A rocket was successfully launched for the model's final flight, concluding its operations. The rocket, which was highly reliable, made a significant achievement as it played an important role that will go down in history as part of Japan's space development. The H2A was jointly developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. The first rocket was launched in 2001, and the 50th rocket was used in the latest launch. During this time, the only failure was the sixth launch in 2003, giving the H2A a success rate of 98%. It can be said that this figure is one of the highest for rocket launches. There were only a few major delays in launches, which was another selling point of the H2A, since it was easy for the companies that asked for launches to work out their schedules. Throughout a quarter of a century in operation, the H2A has carried many satellites into space, including the Hayabusa2 probe, which brought back sand samples collected from the surface of an asteroid; the SLIM lander, which was Japan's first successful lunar lander; and government information-gathering satellites. Launching satellites is related to national security. It is becoming increasingly important for Japan to maintain its own rockets for launching satellites, rather than relying on other countries to launch them. It is significant that Japan has maintained its own launch capability with the H2A. On the other hand, the H2A cost about ¥10 billion per launch. Due to its inability to compete on the global market, there have been few contracts with overseas firms. In recent years, the global market for space development has been changing drastically. More companies in the private sector are entering the space business, and there is a growing need to win orders for satellite launches at low prices. The U.S. company SpaceX, which has cratered prices in the rocket launch market, has set the trend. The company's success in developing reusable rockets has led to launches at lower costs and at shorter intervals. The role of the H2A will be taken over by the H3 rocket, which was successfully launched last year. With the H3, the aim is to keep the cost of launches down to ¥5 billion through various measures, including using automobile parts. The frequency of launches will also increase from the H2A's average of about twice a year. Through these improvements, it is hoped that a system will be put in place to receive orders from customers worldwide. It is also essential to map out a strategy that looks beyond the H3. The development of a new engine for the H3 faced difficulties. This is probably because the technology has not been sufficiently passed down to the next generation as a result of the lack of opportunities to develop rockets since the H2A was designed. The development of a successor rocket to the H3 should begin as soon as possible in order to ensure that the technology is passed on to the next generation. Startup companies overseas are pursuing bold development without the fear of failure. Japan, too, must foster a mindset that allows for a certain degree of failure and seeks to increase the speed of development. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 1, 2025)
Yomiuri Shimbun
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
More Commercial Launches a Must for H2a Rocket's Successor; Mitsubishi Heavy, JAXA Aim to Halve Launch Cost with H3
The H2A rocket, which was retired on Sunday after the model's 50th launch, delivered many satellites vital for scientific research and Japan's social infrastructure into space. However, it failed to win enough orders for commercial launches, a problem that has been passed on to its successor, the H3. 'Over the past 24 years, [the H2A] has made a significant contribution to the autonomy of Japan's space activities through a steady stream of launches,' said Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), at a press conference at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture. The H2A launched more than 70 satellites and other objects into space, serving as the backbone of Japan's space transportation. However, there was an average of only two launches a year, and most depended on 'public demand' for government satellites. There were only orders for commercial launches for five satellites belonging to foreign countries, such as South Korea and the United Kingdom. The launch fee was expensive, reaching as high as ¥10 billion. For Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., which took over the manufacture and operation of the H2A from JAXA in 2007, winning commercial orders has been a longstanding issue. The H3 was jointly developed by MHI and JAXA with the aim of halving the launch fee. 'We would like to receive as many orders for launches from overseas and domestic companies as government missions,' said Iwao Igarashi, senior general manager of the company's Space Systems Division. Demand for launches is rising as the space business expands. According to the Cabinet Office, 253 rockets were successfully launched worldwide in 2024, 2.75 times more than 10 years ago. Japan launched a total of five H2A and H3 rockets that year, compared to 153 in the United States and 66 in China. In particular, the U.S. company SpaceX, which has developed a rocket where the first stage can be reused, dominates the market with about 130 launches a year. 'If we cannot win the competition in the market, we will not be able to maintain the [domestic] industry, and there will be no companies or personnel to manufacture rockets. Our current technology will one day become obsolete, so it is essential to develop a rocket to succeed the H3,' said Hiroaki Akiyama, professor of space policy at Wakayama University.
