Japan on Tuesday launched its first new medium-lift rocket in three decades, strengthening its independent access to space and bolstering its competitive chances in a global launch market roiled by Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The 57-meter (187 ft) tall H3 rocket lifted off from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Tanegashima space port, following an aborted launch last month. It was carrying the ALOS-3, a disaster management land observation satellite that is also equipped with an experimental infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missile launches.