H-IIB
H-IIB Flight 8 at the launch pad in September 2019 | |
| Function | Medium-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Cost per launch | US$112.5 million |
| Size | |
| Height | 56.6 m (185 ft 8 in) |
| Mass | 531,000 kg (1,171,000 lb) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 19,000 kg (42,000 lb) |
| Payload to ISS (carrying the HTV) | |
| Mass | 16,500 kg (36,400 lb) |
| Payload to GTO | |
| Mass | 8,000 kg (18,000 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Family | H-II family |
| Based on | H-IIA |
| Derivative work | H3 |
| Comparable | |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Retired |
| Launch sites | Tanegashima, LA-Y2 |
| Total launches | 9 |
| Success(es) | 9 |
| First flight | 10 September 2009 |
| Last flight | 20 May 2020 |
| Carries passengers or cargo | H-II Transfer Vehicle |
| Boosters – SRB-A3 | |
| No. boosters | 4 |
| Height | 15.1 m (49 ft 6 in) |
| Diameter | 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) |
| Gross mass | 76,500 kg (168,700 lb) each |
| Propellant mass | 66,000 kg (146,000 lb) each |
| Maximum thrust | 2,305 kN (518,000 lbf) each |
| Total thrust | 9,220 kN (2,070,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 283.6 s (2.781 km/s) |
| Burn time | 116 seconds |
| Propellant | HTPB |
| First stage | |
| Height | 38 m (124 ft 8 in) |
| Diameter | 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) |
| Gross mass | 202,000 kg (445,000 lb) |
| Propellant mass | 177,800 kg (392,000 lb) |
| Powered by | 2 × LE-7A |
| Maximum thrust | 2,196 kN (494,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 440 seconds (4.3 km/s) |
| Burn time | 352 seconds |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
| Second stage | |
| Height | 11 m (36 ft 1 in) |
| Diameter | 4 m (13 ft 1 in) |
| Gross mass | 20,000 kg (44,000 lb) |
| Propellant mass | 16,600 kg (36,600 lb) |
| Powered by | 1 × LE-5B |
| Maximum thrust | 137 kN (31,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 448 s (4.39 km/s) |
| Burn time | 499 seconds |
| Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
The H-IIB (H2B) was a Japanese expendable launch system jointly developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was used exclusively to launch the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV, or Kōnotori) cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.
The H-IIB was a two-stage rocket powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen (hydrolox) engines, with four strap-on solid rocket boosters, and was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. It could deliver up to 8,000 kg (18,000 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), compared with 4,000–6,000 kg (8,800–13,200 lb) for its predecessor, the H-IIA. Its performance to low Earth orbit (LEO) was sufficient to carry the 16,500 kg (36,400 lb) HTV.
The H-IIB made its debut in September 2009 and flew nine times through May 2020, all successfully.