I'm not sure whether the Broadcasting Satellite 2A and 2B spacecraft launched in the 1980s were commercial or government-operated payloads. If they were not commercial, I believe this will be Japan's first commercial launch - while they have launched a few commercial payloads in the past, they have all been as secondary payloads.
First Atlas V now H-IIA, I do wonder if the Proton and Sea Launch failures haven't actually saturated the market and that has given these two systems a chance.
Quote from: baldusi on 09/26/2013 11:42 pmFirst Atlas V now H-IIA, I do wonder if the Proton and Sea Launch failures haven't actually saturated the market and that has given these two systems a chance.Well it's a not un-logical move in the circumstances & congratulations to Japan on winning this contract.
Quote from: Star One on 09/28/2013 10:19 amQuote from: baldusi on 09/26/2013 11:42 pmFirst Atlas V now H-IIA, I do wonder if the Proton and Sea Launch failures haven't actually saturated the market and that has given these two systems a chance.Well it's a not un-logical move in the circumstances & congratulations to Japan on winning this contract.What I find interesting is the "flight to quality" of these two wins. Apparently the ariane 5 Vs Proton-M/Sea Launch equilibrium is very fragile. It would seem that the Russians were working at the very limit of tolerable reliability, and the've step out lately. That's the interesting trend I see. That, or a heavier premium on risk on the financial market.
Is it going to launch on the HIIA202? The launch vehicle is cited to be undergoing performance upgrades of the second stage, but the payload 4.9 tons is well within bounds of the HIIA204 which has launched the 5.8t Kiku8 in 2006.Or is this upper stage just a development that is happening and is not really a necessity to conduct this launch. It would imply a significant improvement of the HIIa202 if it could be launched on that one.And I agree that this is partially a result of the Yen drop.
It's a nice rocket with a good record (1 failure in 22 launches).
Quote from: simonbp on 09/29/2013 02:48 pm It's a nice rocket with a good record (1 failure in 22 launches).An excellent record indeed, approaching Delta II reliability levels. I wonder how much of the performance upgrades will become standard launch configuration. It is good to have such a wide range of competitive launch vehicles.
Quote from: fatjohn1408 on 10/03/2013 03:30 pmIs it going to launch on the HIIA202? The launch vehicle is cited to be undergoing performance upgrades of the second stage, but the payload 4.9 tons is well within bounds of the HIIA204 which has launched the 5.8t Kiku8 in 2006.Or is this upper stage just a development that is happening and is not really a necessity to conduct this launch. It would imply a significant improvement of the HIIa202 if it could be launched on that one.And I agree that this is partially a result of the Yen drop.This article explains it: http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_10_15_2012_p28-504957.xml&p=2
Is there any more info on the new/improved cryo second stage referenced here?
Quote from: tul on 10/03/2013 09:59 pmQuote from: fatjohn1408 on 10/03/2013 03:30 pmIs it going to launch on the HIIA202? The launch vehicle is cited to be undergoing performance upgrades of the second stage, but the payload 4.9 tons is well within bounds of the HIIA204 which has launched the 5.8t Kiku8 in 2006.Or is this upper stage just a development that is happening and is not really a necessity to conduct this launch. It would imply a significant improvement of the HIIa202 if it could be launched on that one.And I agree that this is partially a result of the Yen drop.This article explains it: http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/AW_10_15_2012_p28-504957.xml&p=2Hmm it also mentions a capability of 2.9t. This corresponds with the pdf given in the post above for the HII-A 202. 204 could do ~4.5t. Is this GTO or GEO? Because as I said, Kiku8 was 5.8t and Telstar 12V is 4.9t.
Anything here of interest?http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/shingi/gijyutu/gijyutu2/060/shiryo/1359727.htm