Mitsubishi Heavy IndustriesH3-22Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
VEP 4, CE-SAT-1E & TIRSAT
Launched
February 17, 2024 · 00:22 UTC
Image: JAXA
Summary
VEP 4, CE-SAT-1E & TIRSAT launched on a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3-22 from Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan on February 17, 2024 at 00:22 UTC. The launch window ran from 00:22 to 04:06 UTC. It was Mitsubishi Heavy Industries's 50th launch, 2nd this year and humanity's 6,621st orbital launch attempt. It was the 2nd H3-22 flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO). CE-SAT-IE, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 676 × 689 km orbit inclined 98.1°. 3 objects from this launch are catalogued, all of them payloads.
- Watch
- Launch of the Second H3 Launch VehicleJAXA | 宇宙航空研究開発機構
- H3ロケット試験機2号機打上げライブ中継JAXA | 宇宙航空研究開発機構
- H３ロケット試験機２号機 打上げライブ配信 H3 Rocket TF2 Launch live StreamingNVS
- Vehicle
- H3-22 · Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Test Flight · Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)for JAXA, MHI
- Milestone
- 2nd H3-22 flight · 1st this yearMitsubishi Heavy Industries's 50th launch2nd this yearhumanity's 6,621st orbital launch attempt32nd orbital launch attempt this year
Webcast
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
CE-SAT-IE · NORAD 58987 · 2024-032 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 3 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 2024-032A
- Epoch
- 2024-02-17 01:54:48 UTC
- Mean motion
- 14.65566716 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0009016
- Inclination
- 98.1173°
- Ascending node
- 105.4815°
- Arg. of perigee
- 161.0353°
- Mean anomaly
- 292.3502°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0
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+1M56SSRB Separation
- T+3M34SFairing Separation
- T+4M58SMECO
- T+5M5SStage 2 Separation
- T+5M17SSES-1
- T+16M36SSECO-1
- T+16M57SPayload Deployment Sequence Start
- T+1H47M23SSES-2
- T+1H47M39SSECO-2
- T+1H48M19SPayload Deployment Sequence End
Catalogued objects
3 catalogued: 3 payloads; 2 still in orbit
- CE-SAT-IE · NORAD 58987 · in orbit
- VEP-4 · NORAD 58988 · re-entered February 17, 2024
- TIRSAT · NORAD 58989 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
New test flight of the H3 ordered following the failure of the inaugural launch of H3 in March 2023 with ALOS-3. Main payload is VEP 4 (Vehicle Evaluation Payload 4), a 2.6 tonnes mass simulator payload that will be carried on the 2nd test flight of the H3 rocket, instead of the ALOS-4 Earth observation satellite as originally planned. It will be deployed after the 2nd de-orbit burn is completed to test the payload separation mechanism. 2 hitchhiking secondary payloads have been selected in June 2023: * CE-SAT-1E - 70 kilograms class optical Earth observation satellite from Canon Electronics Inc., similar to the previously launched CE-SAT-1. * TIRSAT - 3U cubesat by Japan Space Systems and other institutes to test an infrared sensor for Earth surface observation purposes.
Pad
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
11th launch from Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, 1st this year · 90th from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
Local pad time at liftoff: Feb 17, 9:22 AM GMT+9, in daylight
18 launches from this pad · 99 from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan
346 days after the previous launch from this pad
All launches from Tanegashima Space Center, JapanOpen in maps
Updates
Launch success, all payloads separated into planned orbits.
Show 9 earlier updates
Liftoff.
Cosmic_Penguin · 2/17/2024 · source
Livestream has started
LL2 · 2/16/2024 · source
Rescheduled for February 17.
Cosmic_Penguin · 2/14/2024 · source
Delayed from February 15 due to launch site weather, new launch date TBD.
Cosmic_Penguin · 2/13/2024 · source
Added launch window and payload.
Cosmic_Penguin · 12/28/2023 · source
NET February 15, 2024.
Cosmic_Penguin · 12/27/2023 · source
No longer scheduled in 2023 (Q1 2024 is inferred from previous reports of launch within Fiscal Year 2023 in Japan).
Cosmic_Penguin · 11/13/2023 · source
Targeting 2023
Nosu · 9/11/2023 · source
Added launch per Japanese government decision to de-manifest ALOS-4 from the 2nd launch of H3 and replace it with a new test launch in the -22 configuration.
Cosmic_Penguin · 5/25/2023 · source
Questions
When did VEP 4, CE-SAT-1E & TIRSAT launch?
VEP 4, CE-SAT-1E & TIRSAT launched on February 17, 2024 at 00:22 UTC. The launch window ran from 00:22 to 04:06 UTC.
Where can I watch VEP 4, CE-SAT-1E & TIRSAT?
Coverage: Launch of the Second H3 Launch Vehicle; H3ロケット試験機2号機打上げライブ中継; H３ロケット試験機２号機 打上げライブ配信 H3 Rocket TF2 Launch live Streaming. Watch the replay
What rocket launched VEP 4, CE-SAT-1E & TIRSAT?
H3-22, flown by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. H3-22 spec sheet
Where did VEP 4, CE-SAT-1E & TIRSAT launch from?
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. Liftoff was Feb 17, 9:22 AM GMT+9 local time at the pad.
What orbit did VEP 4, CE-SAT-1E & TIRSAT reach?
CE-SAT-IE, one of 3 catalogued objects, reached a 676 × 689 km orbit inclined 98.1°.
How many satellites did VEP 4, CE-SAT-1E & TIRSAT launch?
3 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 2 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).