H3
updated 5 days ago
Japanese hydrogen-fuelled medium-lift orbital rocket
H3 is Japan's replacement for H-IIA, designed to fly for less money. The first flight in March 2023 failed when the second stage didn't ignite and JAXA destroyed the rocket. Five consecutive successes followed before a second-stage failure in December 2025 lost a navigation satellite; it returned to flight in June 2026.
We track every H3 launch.
Next launch in 12 daysOct 19
Service since 2023
2023 first flight 2024 peak (3 launches)
- launches
- 9
- success
- 78%
- upcoming
- 9
H3 launch activity
Past launches and what's coming up
- Feb 02 202508:30 UTCFeb 02 202508:30 UTC
- Oct 26 202500:00 UTCOct 26 202500:00 UTC
- Dec 22 202501:51 UTCDec 22 202501:51 UTC
- Jun 12 202600:53 UTCJun 12 202600:53 UTC
- Aug 10 202619:23 UTCAug 10 202619:23 UTC
- Now Oct 07 · 2026
Upcoming
- Oct 19 202619:41 UTCOct 19 202619:41 UTC
- Dec 2026Dec 2026
- 20272027
- 20272027
- 20272027
Full launch history
| 2028 | ||||
April 2028 | DESTINY Japan • H3 | |||
2028 Q1 | MBR Explorer Japan • H3 | |||
| 2027 | ||||
2027 | ETS-9 Japan • H3 24L | |||
2027 | IGS-Optical Diversification 1 Japan • H3 | |||
2027 | HTV-X 3 Japan • H3 24 | |||
2027 | IGS-Optical 9 Japan • H3 | |||
2027 | IGS-Optical Diversification 2 Japan • H3 | |||
| 2026 | ||||
December 2026 | HTV-X2 Japan • H3 24W | |||
Oct 19, 2026 | Martian Moons eXploration Japan • H3 24L | |||
Today | ||||
Aug 10, 2026 | QZS-7 Japan • H3 22S | |||
Jun 12, 2026 | VEP-5 Japan • H3 30S | |||
| 2025 | ||||
Dec 22, 2025Failure | QZS-5 Japan • H3 22S | |||
Oct 26, 2025 | HTV-X1 cargo to ISS Japan • H3 24W | |||
Feb 2, 2025 | QZS-6 Japan • H3 22S | |||
| 2024 | ||||
Nov 4, 2024 | DSN-3 Japan • H3 22S | |||
Jul 1, 2024 | ALOS-4 Japan • H3 22S | |||
Feb 17, 2024 | VEP-4 Japan • H3 22S | |||
| 2023 | ||||
Mar 7, 2023Failure | ALOS-3 Japan • H3 22S | |||