Japan's space agency, JAXA, and industrial giant Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) last week unveiled the new H-2B rocket body to a group of reporters, but only after submitting them to a rigorous procedure of finger-printing, an air shower to remove all dust, and a requirement to wear chemical suits.

The H-2B — designed to take supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) and launch satellites — is more imposing than its predecessor rocket, the H-2A. When it is ready, the H-2B is expected to be 56 metres (185 feet) tall, three meters taller than its sister rocket. The rocket is 5.2 metres wide, as compared to four metres for the H-2A, and weighs 530 tons, and is equipped with two engines and four auxiliary propulsers or "boosters." The H-2B is initially intended to bring supplies of up to six tons per year via an unmanned HTV spacecraft, or H-2 Transfer Vehicle, to the International Space Station, JAXA said.

The enormous pieces comprising the new rocket are currently laid out horizontally in the hermetic hangars of MHI's vast space development site in the central Japanese city of Nagoya. The H-2B is expected to be able to release an HTV weighing up to 16.5 tons into orbit as well as satellites with a combined weight of eight tonnes. In addition to developing Japan's space program, the H-2B was designed to boost MHI's competitiveness against well-known launch services such as Europe's Ariane, and Sea Launch operated by U.S.-based Boeing. Including the costs of developing and producing the first model, Japan's space agency and the MHI are expected to invest 40 billion yen (444 million dollars). Officials hope that a series of successful launches will boost the rocket's reputation — and that of MHI — in Japan and abroad.

For the moment, MHI is focusing on strengthening confidence in the H-2A, which has not gained the level of global recognition that Europe's Ariane enjoys. However, the company last month signed a deal with South Korea to launch the multi-purpose Arirang 3 satellite in 2011 using the H-2A, which would be the first commercial order for a Japanese-made rocket. Up until now, the H-2A listed nine successful launches in a row since 2005, recovering from a blow in late 2003 when it failed its sixth mission — an accident that delayed the country's goal of becoming an international player.

(Source: ChannelNewsAsia.com — H-2B rocket photo courtesy of MHI)