Japan’s flagship H3 rocket fails on first test flight
日本旗舰H3火箭首次试飞失败
Japan’s first H3 rocket, designed to launch satellites and resupply space stations, fell back to Earth Monday (U.S. time) after its second stage engine failed to ignite five minutes into the new launcher’s inaugural test flight, destroying the rocket and a three-ton Earth observation spacecraft.
日本第一枚用于发射卫星和空间站补给的H3火箭，在首次试飞5分钟后，第二级发动机点火失败，导致火箭和重达3吨的地球观测飞船坠落。
After a decade in development and a last-second abort on its first launch attempt last month, the H3 rocket was loaded with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen Monday as the countdown smoothly ticked down to liftoff at 8:37:55 p.m. EST (0137:55 GMT Tuesday). The rocket’s two core stage engines ignited in the final seconds of the countdown, then two strap-on solid rocket boosters lit to propel the H3 off the launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center.
经过10年的研发和上个月最后一秒的首次发射失败，H3火箭于周一顺利进入倒计时，于美国东部时间晚上8:37:55(格林威治标准时间周二0137:55)发射，装载了超冷液氢和液氧。火箭的两个核心级发动机在倒计时的最后几秒钟点燃，然后两个捆扎的固体火箭助推器点燃，推动H3离开种子岛航天中心的发射台。
Riding 1.6 million pounds of thrust, the H3 rocket quickly vaulted off its launch pad at Tanegashima, located on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the southwestern part of the Japanese island chain. Liftoff occurred at 10:37 a.m. Japan Standard Time.
H3火箭凭借160万磅的推力，迅速从种子岛的发射台升空。种子岛位于日本岛链西南部的一个悬崖上，俯瞰着太平洋。升空时间是上午10点37分。日本标准时间。
The rocket’s design builds on propulsion technology used on Japan’s earlier generation of H-2A and H-2B rockets, but its twin LE-9 core stage engines use a new engine cycle and produce more thrust than the engines used on previous Japanese launch vehicles. Problems with the new main engine for the H3 rocket were largely to blame for delays in its first flight from 2020.
火箭的设计建立在日本早期一代H-2A和H-2B火箭上使用的推进技术的基础上，但它的双LE-9核心级发动机使用了新的发动机循环，并产生比以前日本运载火箭上使用的发动机更大的推力。H3火箭的新主发动机出现问题，是其2020年首飞推迟的主要原因。
But the LE-9 engines appeared to function as expected on the first H3 test flight. The rocket’s two solid rocket boosters burned out and jettisoned about two minutes into the mission, followed by separation of the H3’s nose cone three-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, revealing the Japanese-built Advanced Land Observing Satellite 3 payload. Ground-based cameras showed the rocket making a right turn, as expected, to steer from its initial track east from the launch site onto a southerly course to target a polar orbit.
但是LE-9发动机在H3的首次试飞中表现出了预期的功能。火箭的两个固体火箭助推器在执行任务大约两分钟后燃烧并被丢弃，随后H3的鼻锥在升空三分半钟后分离，露出了日本制造的先进陆地观测卫星3号的有效载荷。地面摄像机显示，火箭如预期的那样向右转弯，从发射场的初始轨道向东转向向南的轨道，以极地轨道为目标。
The rocket shut down its LE-9 main engines at T+plus 4 minutes and 56 seconds. Eight seconds later, telemetry data streaming from the rocket back to a ground station confirmed separation of the H3’s first stage from the second stage of the launcher.
火箭在T+ + 4分56秒关闭了它的LE-9主发动机。8秒后，从火箭传回地面站的遥测数据证实H3火箭的第一级与发射装置的第二级分离。
The upper stage was supposed to ignite its hydrogen-fueled LE-5B-3 engine at T+plus 5 minute and 16 seconds, but data from the rocket indicated the engine did not start. Telemetry from the H3 launcher also showed its velocity decreasing after reaching a top speed around 8,000 mph (13,000 kilometers per hour), about half of the velocity required to reach a stable orbit around Earth.
上面一级本应在T+ + 5分16秒时点燃其氢燃料LE-5B-3发动机，但来自火箭的数据显示发动机没有启动。来自H3发射器的遥测数据也显示，在达到最高速度约8000英里/小时(13000公里/小时)后，速度下降，大约是到达稳定绕地球轨道所需速度的一半。
Without the thrust from the upper stage engine, the rocket continued slowing as it arced to a maximum altitude of nearly 400 miles (about 630 kilometers), according to data displayed on a live launch broadcast produced by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA.
根据日本宇宙航空研究开发机构(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency，简称JAXA)在发射直播中展示的数据，在没有上层发动机的推力的情况下，火箭在弧形飞行至近400英里(约630公里)的最大高度时继续减速。
“Because the second stage engine did not fire, there was no prospect of being put into the specified orbit,” JAXA said.
“由于第二级发动机没有点火，没有被送入指定轨道的前景，”日本宇宙航空研究开发机构说。
JAXA said range controllers sent a destruct command to the rocket after determining there was “no possibility of achieving the mission.” Debris from the rocket and the three-ton ALOS 3 satellite fell over a remote stretch of ocean a few hundred miles east of the Philippines.
JAXA表示，在确定“不可能完成任务”后，靶场控制人员向火箭发送了销毁命令。火箭和三吨重的ALOS 3卫星的碎片落在菲律宾以东几百英里的一片偏远海域。
JAXA said an investigation board will probe the cause of the H3 launch failure.
日本宇宙航空研究开发机构说，一个调查委员会将调查H3发射失败的原因。
“It is extremely regrettable that the launch of the H3 rocket, which has been under development as a new flagship rocket, failed, and I am sorry that we could not live up to the expectations of the people and everyone involved,” said Keiko Nagaoka, Japan’s minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology.
日本文部科学大臣长冈庆子(Keiko Nagaoka)表示:“作为新的旗舰火箭，一直在研发中的H3火箭发射失败，非常令人遗憾。我很抱歉，我们未能达到国民和所有相关人员的期望。”
“We will investigate the cause as soon as possible, formulate countermeasures, and respond with all our might and with a sense of urgency while cooperating with related organizations so that we can meet the expectations of the H3 rocket,” she said.
她说:“我们将尽快调查原因，制定对策，并在与相关机构合作的同时，以紧迫感和全力应对，以便我们能够满足H3火箭的期望。”
The H3 will replace Japan’s workhorse H-2A rocket and the H-2B launch vehicle, which have amassed a 98% success rate in 55 missions since 2001.
H3将取代日本主力H-2A火箭和H-2B运载火箭，自2001年以来，这两种运载火箭在55次任务中积累了98%的成功率。
Japan’s space agency started development of the H3 rocket in 2013, with a goal of slashing in half the cost per launch of the H-2A rocket. The new rocket has a cheaper, lighter, and more powerful version of the hydrogen-fueled engine that flies on the H-2A rocket, and flies with two or three main engines instead of a single powerplant on the core stage of the H-2A.
日本航天局于2013年开始研发H3火箭，目标是将H-2A火箭的每次发射成本削减一半。这种新型火箭拥有更便宜、更轻、更强大的氢燃料发动机，与H-2A火箭上的氢燃料发动机相比，它有两个或三个主发动机，而不是H-2A核心级上的单个动力装置。
The maiden flight of the H3 rocket was powered by two LE-9 core stage engines, each producing more than 330,000 pounds of thrust, a third more power than the LE-7A engine used on the H-2A rocket. Future H3 missions could fly with three main engines, allowing the rocket to lift off without the need for any solid rocket boosters.
H3火箭的首飞由两台LE-9核心级发动机提供动力，每台发动机产生超过33万磅的推力，比H-2A火箭上使用的LE-7A发动机功率多三分之一。未来的H3任务可以使用三个主发动机，使火箭升空时不需要任何固体火箭助推器。
Engineers also upgraded the H-2A rocket’s solid rocket boosters for the H3 program, with the new SRB 3 solid-fueled motors on the H3 rocket capable of generating 20% more thrust. Designers achieved cost savings by simplifying the connection between the boosters and the core stage of the H3 rocket, and by using a fixed nozzle on the SRB 3 motor, instead of a vectoring nozzle on the H-2A rocket’s solid-fueled boosters.
工程师还为H3项目升级了H-2A火箭的固体火箭助推器，H3火箭上的新型SRB 3固体燃料发动机能够产生20%以上的推力。设计人员通过简化助推器和H3火箭核心级之间的连接，以及在SRB 3发动机上使用固定喷嘴，而不是H-2A火箭固体燃料助推器上的矢量喷嘴，实现了成本节约。
The LE-5B-3 engine on the H3 rocket’s upper stage, which did not ignite on the test flight Monday, is designed for multiple firings in space. It’s a modernized version of the LE-5B engine flown on the H-2A rocket, capable of generating more than 30,000 pounds of thrust in space.
H3火箭上层的LE-5B-3发动机在周一的试飞中没有点火，是为在太空中多次点火而设计的。它是搭载在H-2A火箭上的LE-5B发动机的现代化版本，能够在太空中产生超过3万磅的推力。
Changes to the upper stage engine introduced on the H3 rocket improved the LE-5B’s fuel efficiency and firing duration.
对H3火箭上的末级发动机进行了改进，提高了LE-5 B的燃料效率和点火持续时间。
In order to achieve the improvement in fuel efficiency, engineers modified the design of the engine’s mixer, which combines liquid hydrogen from the fuel turbo pump with gaseous hydrogen from the engine coolant channels. Designers changed the turbine in the engine’s fuel turbopump to reduce the risk of fatigue during extended duration missions with multiple upper stage firings.
为了实现燃油效率的提高，工程师修改了发动机混合器的设计，将燃料涡轮泵中的液氢与发动机冷却剂通道中的气态氢结合在一起。设计师改变了发动机燃料涡轮泵中的涡轮，以减少在长时间任务中多次上级点火的疲劳风险。
The development of the H3 rocket cost about 200 billion yen, or $1.5 billion.
H3火箭的开发耗资约2000亿日圆（合15亿美元）。
The first test flight of the H3 was delayed from 2020 due to problems during testing of the new LE-9 main engine, which employs an expander bleed cycle more often used on lower-thrust upper stage engines. The expander bleed cycle uses super-cold hydrogen fuel to cool the engine’s combustion chamber, then the heated hydrogen gas is used to drive the engine’s fuel and oxidizer turbopumps. The H-2A rocket’s LE-7A engine uses a different design operating on a staged combustion cycle.
由于新的LE-9主发动机在测试过程中出现问题，H3的首次试飞从2020年推迟，该主发动机采用了更常用于低推力上级发动机的膨胀器排气循环。膨胀机排气循环使用超冷氢燃料来冷却发动机的燃烧室，然后加热的氢气用于驱动发动机的燃料和氧化剂涡轮泵。H-2A火箭的LE-7A发动机采用不同的设计，在分段燃烧循环中工作。
The LE-9 also introduces electrically actuated valves and new manufacturing techniques, including 3D printing of components.
LE-9还引入了电动阀门和新的制造技术，包括组件的3D打印。
Engineers discovered cracked rotor blades in the LE-9 engine’s fuel turbopump after hotfire testing in 2020, and found holes in the internal wall of the engine’s combustion chamber. The engine development team redesigned the turbine blades and the fuel and oxidizer turbopumps to resolve the problems, then performed more hotfire tests before clearing the H3 rocket for its inaugural test flight.
工程师们在2020年的大火测试后，在LE-9发动机的燃料涡轮泵中发现了有裂纹的转子叶片，并在发动机燃烧室的内壁上发现了洞。为了解决这些问题，发动机开发团队重新设计了涡轮叶片以及燃料和氧化剂涡轮泵，然后在H3火箭进行首次试飞之前进行了更多的高温测试。
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries led the Japanese industrial team developing the H3 rocket under contract with JAXA, Japan’s space agency. MHI also led the design and development of the cryogenic liquid-fueled LE-9 and LE-5B-3 engines. IHI Aerospace developed the solid rocket boosters, building on the design used on the H-2A rocket. Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Ltd. worked on the H3 rocket’s guidance system.
三菱重工(Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)领导的日本工业团队根据与日本宇宙航空研究开发机构(JAXA)的合同开发了H3火箭。三菱重工还主导了低温液体燃料LE-9和LE-5B-3发动机的设计和开发。IHI航空航天公司在H-2A火箭上使用的设计基础上开发了固体火箭助推器。日本航空电子工业有限公司负责H3火箭的制导系统。
MHI aims to launch the H3 rocket for as low as $50 million per mission, about 50% of the cost of an H-2A rocket flight. Japan has launched 46 H-2A missions, plus nine flights of the heavier H-2B rocket on resupply missions to the International Space Station. A handful of H-2A rockets remain to fly, and the H-2B is already retired.
三菱重工的目标是每次发射H3火箭的成本低至5000万美元，约为H-2A火箭飞行成本的50%。日本已经发射了46次H-2A任务，以及9次较重的H-2B火箭向国际空间站执行补给任务。少量H-2A火箭仍在飞行，H-2B已经退役。
The H3 rocket comes in four configurations, with the number of main engines, solid rocket boosters, and the size of the payload fairing adjustable based on mission requirements. The H3 rocket for Test Flight 1, or TF1, flew in the H3-22S configuration with two first stage engines, two strap-on solid rocket boosters, and a short payload fairing.
H3火箭有四种配置，主发动机、固体火箭助推器的数量和有效载荷整流罩的大小可根据任务要求进行调整。用于测试飞行1的H3火箭，或TF1，在H3- 22s配置中飞行，带有两个一级发动机，两个系带固体火箭助推器和一个短有效载荷整流罩。
According to JAXA, the H3 rocket in its most powerful configuration can launch payloads of up to 6.5 metric tons into geostationary transfer orbit, a destination favored by many large telecommunications satellites. That is comparable to the lift capability of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
根据JAXA的说法，H3火箭在其最强大的配置下可以将高达6.5公吨的有效载荷发射到地球同步转移轨道，这是许多大型电信卫星青睐的目的地。这与SpaceX的猎鹰9号火箭的运载能力相当。
Japanese engineers completed a hold-down test-firing of the first H3 rocket’s main engines at Tanegashima in November, then integrated the two solid-fueled strap-on motors and the payload fairing ahead of mission’s first launch attempt in February, which was aborted moments before liftoff due to an electrical problem.
11月，日本工程师在种子岛完成了首枚H3火箭主发动机的压制点火测试，然后在2月的第一次发射尝试之前集成了两个固体燃料的捆绑式发动机和有效载荷整流罩，这次发射由于电气问题在发射前一刻中止。
JAXA and MHI designed the H3 rocket to launch Japanese scientific satellites, intelligence-gathering and national security spacecraft, and Japan’s new HTV-X resupply freighter for the International Space Station. Japan also plans to use the H3 rocket to launch a version of the HTV-X supply ship to the Gateway mini-space station NASA and other space agencies will construct in orbit around the moon.
JAXA和三菱重工设计的H3火箭用于发射日本科学卫星、情报收集和国家安全航天器，以及日本为国际空间站设计的新型HTV-X再补给飞船。日本还计划使用H3火箭向美国宇航局和其他太空机构将在月球轨道上建造的“门户”迷你空间站发射一艘HTV-X补给船。
Officials hope to attract commercial launch business for the H3 rocket, which will compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, ULA’s Vulcan launch vehicle, and Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket. Like the H3, the latter two vehicles are expendable in design, and have not yet flown, while the Falcon 9 is partially reusable and commands a leading position in the global commercial launch market.
官员们希望为H3火箭吸引商业发射业务，该火箭将与SpaceX的猎鹰9号火箭、ULA的火神运载火箭和欧洲的阿丽亚娜6号火箭竞争。和H3一样，后两种运载火箭在设计上是可消耗的，而且还没有飞行过，而猎鹰9号是部分可重复使用的，在全球商业发射市场上处于领先地位。
The Advanced Land Observing Satellite 3, or ALOS 3, mission lost on the H3 rocket’s test flight Monday was supposed to collect wide-swath, high-resolution images of land surfaces around the world, providing observations for disaster management, mapping, and environmental monitoring.
在周一H3火箭的试飞中丢失的高级陆地观测卫星3号(ALOS 3)本应收集世界各地陆地表面的宽带、高分辨率图像，为灾害管理、测绘和环境监测提供观测数据。
ALOS 3 was expected to separate from the H3 rocket’s upper stage in a 419-mile-high (675-kilometer) orbit about 17 minutes after liftoff.
ALOS 3预计将在升空后17分钟左右在419英里（675公里）高的轨道上与H3火箭的末级分离。
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