Launch Schedule of the second H3 Launch Vehicle (H3TF2)
December 28, 2023 (JST)
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) hereby announces the launch schedule of the second H3 Launch Vehicle (H3TF2: Test Flight No.2) as follows.
The H3TF2 will carry the Vehicle Evaluation Payload-4 (VEP-4) to conduct the flight demonstration. In addition, we will capitalize on the excess launch capability of the H3TF2 by providing launch and orbit insertion opportunities for two small secondary payloads (piggyback payloads), CE-SAT-IE and TIRSAT.
Launch date: February 15, 2024
Launch Window: 9:22:55 (JST) through 13:06:34 (JST)
The time is the 24-hour clock
Reserved Launch Period: February 16 through March 31, 2024
Launch site: Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center
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Launch window confirmed as 00:22:55-04:06:34 UTC, February 15.
Note that after deploying the hitchhiking payloads CE-SAT-IE & TIRSAT into a 675 km SSO, the 2nd stage de-orbits & only afterward does the dummy payload (named VEP-4 - Vehicle Evaluation Payload 4, 1st 3 were on H-II 1st launch (TF1) and the first 2 launches of H-IIA (TF1/2) respectively) got deployed while on the way down to test the payload separation mechanism.
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