J-I

Japanese solid-fuel small-lift rocket

Japan built the J-I from parts it already had: a solid booster from the H-II as the first stage and the upper stages of the M-3SII. It flew once, on 11 February 1996 from Tanegashima, sending the HYFLEX glider on a suborbital flight to test re-entry for Japan's planned HOPE spaceplane. HYFLEX did its job but sank after splashdown, and a second J-I never flew.