Japan is about to launch new generation missiles

Epsilon, Japan's new generation rocket, will fly to space in August.

The launch will take place at Uchinoura Space Center, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan on August 22, NHK TV station reported. Epsilon is a new type of rocket built by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the first time in 12 years. It is 24m high, 2.5m in diameter, weighing 91 tons. With these dimensions, it is only half of H2A, the type of missile that Japan is using.

Illustration of the Epsilon rocket flying into space. (Photo: enjoyspace.com)

Japan invested about 20 billion yen for Epsilon research project. New generation missiles use solid fuel. Epsilon can bring small, lightweight artificial satellites into space, and carry out all H2A tasks that are being undertaken.

The goal of the Epsilon manufacturing project is to improve operational efficiency, reduce missile launch costs to improve the competitiveness of the Japanese missile industry. Engineers continued to use the M5 rocket technology seven years ago, while automating the phase control process and using H2A to assist.

The cost of launching Epsilon is about 3.8 billion yen - only half the cost of launching the M5. Start-up time - from the launch of the rocket to the launch pad - is only 7 days, much shorter than the M5's 42-day time. JAXA will continue to improve Epsilon so that the cost of launching is only 3 billion yen or less in the next 4 years.

In the first launch in August, Epsilon will bring a satellite equipped with planetary observation telescopes. Mr. Morita Yasuhiro, project manager of JAXA, expects that, with the revolutionary design of Epsilon, Japan will be one of the leading countries in rocket manufacturing.