Watch On
Japan will launch its first mission of the year early Sunday morning (Feb. 2), and you can watch the action live.
An H3 rocket is scheduled to launch the Michibiki 6 navigation satellite from Tanegashima Space Center on Sunday during a two-hour window that opens at 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 GMT; 5:30 p.m. local Japan time).
You can watch the liftoff live here at Space.com, courtesy of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency or directly via JAXA. Coverage will begin 40 minutes before the window opens.
Sunday’s liftoff will be the fifth ever for the two-stage H3, which was developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to replace Japan’s workhorse H-2A rocket.
The H3 failed on its debut mission in March 2023, resulting in the loss of an Earth-observing satellite, but its three most recent flights have been successful.
Related: Japan launches military communications satellite on 4th flight of H3 rocket (video)
The H3 will launch the 10,800-pound (4,900-kilogram) Michibiki 6 to geostationary transfer orbit. After it makes its way to its final orbit and finishes its checkout phase, the spacecraft will become the fifth member of Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), which became operational in November 2018.
“This system is compatible with GPS satellites and can be utilized with them in an integrated fashion. In this way, the satellite positioning service environment was advanced dramatically,” Japanese officials wrote in a description of the QZSS project.
“QZSW can be used even in the Asia-Oceania regions with longitudes close to Japan, so its usage will be expanded to other countries in these regions as well,” they added.
The Michibiki 6 mission will be Japan’s first of 2025. In 2024, the nation conducted seven orbital launches.