The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced its intention to launch a significant upgrade to its satellite imaging system, coinciding with the third test of a new flagship rocket.

Japan's space agency announced on Friday its intention to launch a significant upgrade to its satellite imaging system, coinciding with the third test launch of a new flagship rocket. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) revealed that an H3 rocket is scheduled for liftoff from the Tanegashima Space Center, situated on a southwestern Japanese island, in the early afternoon on June 30, with a launch window extending through the end of July.

The primary payload aboard the rocket will be the Advanced Land Observation Satellite, ALOS-4, dedicated to Earth observation, disaster response data collection, mapmaking, and monitoring military activities, including missile launches, utilizing an infrared sensor developed by the Defense Ministry. ALOS-4 succeeds the current ALOS-2 and boasts a significantly expanded observation scope.

This launch marks the third attempt for the H3 rocket, following an unsuccessful debut in March 2023 and a subsequent successful launch on February 17. The inaugural launch encountered issues with the rocket's second stage engine, resulting in the destruction of the rocket and its primary payload, intended to be the ALOS-3 satellite.

The successful test flight of H3 No. 2 carried two commercially-developed observation microsatellites and a mockup of the ALOS satellite. JAXA, in collaboration with its primary contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), has been developing the H3 rocket as a successor to the current mainstay, H-2A, which is slated for retirement after two additional flights. MHI aims to assume H3 production and launch responsibilities from JAXA, aspiring to make it commercially viable.

Japan views a robust and commercially competitive space transport capability as vital to both its space program and national security objectives. The 57-meter (187-foot) long H3 rocket is engineered to accommodate larger payloads than the H-2A while halving the launch costs associated with its predecessor.