Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesH3-30Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
H3-30 Test Flight
Launched
June 12, 2026 · 00:53 UTC
Image: JAXA
Summary
H3-30 Test Flight launched on a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3-30 from Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan on June 12, 2026 at 00:53 UTC. The launch window ran from 00:53 to 02:52 UTC. It was Mitsubishi Heavy Industries's 57th launch, 1st this year and humanity's 7,310th orbital launch attempt. It was the 1st H3-30 flight. The payload was bound for Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). STARS-X, one of 7 catalogued objects, reached a 587 × 597 km orbit inclined 97.7°. 7 objects from this launch are catalogued, 6 of them payloads.
- Watch
- Vehicle
- H3-30 · Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Test Flight · Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)
- Milestone
- 1st H3-30 flightMitsubishi Heavy Industries's 57th launch1st this yearhumanity's 7,310th orbital launch attempt137th orbital launch attempt this year
Webcast
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
STARS-X · NORAD 69502 · 2026-132 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 7 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- OBJECT A
- Object ID
- 2026-132A
- Epoch
- 2026-06-12 03:35:06 UTC
- Mean motion
- 14.94204437 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.00065155
- Inclination
- 97.6783°
- Ascending node
- 226.9296°
- Arg. of perigee
- 253.7333°
- Mean anomaly
- 106.3171°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 2
- B*
- 0.000030315118
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: SSO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Flight timeline
- T−0Liftoff
- T+3M12SFairing Separation
- T+3M34SMECO
- T+3M42SStage 2 Separation
- T+3M54SSES-1
- T+15M15SSECO-1
- T+16M16SPayload Deployment Sequence Start
- T+30M6SPayload Deployment Sequence End
- T+1H44M58SSES-2
- T+1H45M16SSECO-2
Catalogued objects
7 catalogued: 6 payloads, 1 debris; 6 still in orbit
- STARS-X · NORAD 69502 · in orbit
- Umitsubame · NORAD 69503 · in orbit
- BRO-22 · NORAD 69504 · in orbit
- HORN-L · NORAD 69505 · re-entered August 27, 2026
- VERTECS · NORAD 69506 · in orbit
- HORN-R · NORAD 69507 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
Test flight of the H3-30 variant of the H3 launch vehicle with 3 LE-9 engines in the first stage and no SRBs. The flight will carry a dummy main payload (Vehicle Evaluation Payload 5, VEP-5) and several hitchhiking small satellites: * PETREL * STARS-X * BRO-22 * VERTECS * HORN-L/R
News
H3 successfully returns to flightJapan’s H3 rocket launched June 11 on its first flight since a failure in December, placing six smallsats in orbit.
Japan’s H3 to return to flight with debut launch of lightest configurationJapan’s H3 rocket will return to flight Friday, with a launch that also marks the…
Pad
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
17th launch from Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, 1st this year · 98th from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
Local pad time at liftoff: Jun 12, 9:53 AM GMT+9, in daylight
18 launches from this pad · 99 from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
171 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Tanegashima Space Center, JapanOpen in maps
Updates
Launch success.
Show 9 earlier updates
Liftoff.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/12/2026 · source
Official Webcast by JAXA | 宇宙航空研究開発機構 has started
LL2 · 6/11/2026 · source
Confirmed rescheduled for June 12.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/9/2026 · source
Launch delayed due to launch site weather.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/8/2026 · source
GO for launch on June 10.
Cosmic_Penguin · 4/24/2026 · source
NET Q2 2026/JFY 2026.
Cosmic_Penguin · 12/1/2025 · source
Delayed till after HTV-X 1 launch.
Cosmic_Penguin · 8/22/2025 · source
NET Q3, after H-IIA F50.
Cosmic_Penguin · 6/10/2025 · source
NET 1H 2025.
Cosmic_Penguin · 12/10/2024 · source
Questions
When did H3-30 Test Flight launch?
H3-30 Test Flight launched on June 12, 2026 at 00:53 UTC. The launch window ran from 00:53 to 02:52 UTC.
Where can I watch H3-30 Test Flight?
Coverage: Launch live streaming of H3 Launch Vehicle flight No.6, 30 configuration Test Vehicle（English）; H3ロケット6号機(30形態試験機)打上げライブ中継（日本語）; 2026.6.12 8:30～ H３ロケット6号機 「VEP-5」打上げH3 Rocket F6 Launch. Watch the replay
What rocket launched H3-30 Test Flight?
H3-30, flown by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. H3-30 spec sheet
Where did H3-30 Test Flight launch from?
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. Liftoff was Jun 12, 9:53 AM GMT+9 local time at the pad.
What orbit did H3-30 Test Flight reach?
STARS-X, one of 7 catalogued objects, reached a 587 × 597 km orbit inclined 97.7°.
How many satellites did H3-30 Test Flight launch?
6 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 5 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).