30% COST CUT IN LAUNCH OF SMALL ROCKET.
Tapping private-sector
technologies and standardizing components,
Japan aims to reduce the cost of launching the Epsilon rocket by about 30% by 2020.
The Epsilon launch vehicle was developed to carry small and midsize satellites into space more cheaply. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the science ministry look to cut the price tag, currently at about 5.3 billion yen ($44.4 million) per mission, to roughly 3.8 billion yen.
The rocket's first successful launch took place in 2013, and the second mission is planned for autumn. It uses the solid-fuel strap-on booster for the H-IIA launch vehicle, which was designed for larger satellites and costs about 10 billion yen per launch.
Using private-sector trajectory controllers from the airplane and automobile industries will reduce costs. Tapping components for solid-fuel strap-on boosters from the HIII launch vehicle, whose development is to be complete in 2020, will also bring down costs through volume construction.
India and European countries use low-price rockets costing 2.5 billion yen to 3 billion yen. Japan seeks to compete by offering comprehensive deals that include satellite production and operations. Between 2021 and 2040, at least 10 smaller satellites are expected to be launched yearly for applications such as agricultural land management and disaster monitoring, mainly in Asia.
(Nikkei)
Japan aims to reduce the cost of launching the Epsilon rocket by about 30% by 2020.
The Epsilon launch vehicle was developed to carry small and midsize satellites into space more cheaply. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the science ministry look to cut the price tag, currently at about 5.3 billion yen ($44.4 million) per mission, to roughly 3.8 billion yen.
The rocket's first successful launch took place in 2013, and the second mission is planned for autumn. It uses the solid-fuel strap-on booster for the H-IIA launch vehicle, which was designed for larger satellites and costs about 10 billion yen per launch.
Using private-sector trajectory controllers from the airplane and automobile industries will reduce costs. Tapping components for solid-fuel strap-on boosters from the HIII launch vehicle, whose development is to be complete in 2020, will also bring down costs through volume construction.
India and European countries use low-price rockets costing 2.5 billion yen to 3 billion yen. Japan seeks to compete by offering comprehensive deals that include satellite production and operations. Between 2021 and 2040, at least 10 smaller satellites are expected to be launched yearly for applications such as agricultural land management and disaster monitoring, mainly in Asia.
(Nikkei)
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