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Japan’s new H3 rocket proved it works, but will it catch on anywhere else?


"The H3 finally gave its first cry. The launch was a perfect success."

Japan's new H3 rocket took off Friday on its second test flight; its success is an important milestone for the launch vehicle poised to power nearly all of the Japanese space program's missions into orbit over the next decade. The 187-foot-tall (57-meter) H3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan at 7:22 pm EST Friday (00:22 UTC Saturday) with a dummy payload and two smaller satellites. The H3 rocket circled Earth one time before reigniting its upper-stage engine for a braking maneuver to bring it back into the atmosphere, where it was expected to burn up during reentry a couple of hours after liftoff.

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