ANDREW DOYLE / SINGAPORE
Rule barring foreign participation in Japan's space programme would need to be lifted
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is seeking Japanese government approval to equip the country's H2A satellite launcher with an upper-stage engine developed jointly with Boeing.
Meanwhile, MHI and Boeing have completed preliminary full-scale combustion chamber/injector assembly testing of their MB-XX rocket motor, which is due to fly as the upper stage of future versions of Boeing's Delta IV.
A version of the MB-XX could be ready for an H2A launch by 2006 if Tokyo agrees to allow a major foreign partner to join Japan's indigenous space programme, reports the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper. MHI declines to comment on the newspaper reports.
Using the more powerful MB-XX upper-stage engine on the H2A would enable Japan to launch heavier commercial satellites. A series of setbacks in Japan's space programme caused by technical failures may prompt the government to consider opening the door to foreign participants.
MHI reportedly believes that procuring some engine parts from Boeing will not necessarily breach a government directive requiring Japan to maintain a fully independent space programme.
The Japanese manufacturer and Boeing's Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power unit say MB-XX hardware testing at Tashiro in Japan validated "key performance parameters, heat loads, combustion stability and hardware durability". The pair started developing the MB-XX in 1999 as a next-generation upper-stage engine.
The National Space Development Agency-led H2A programme is expected to be privatised as part of a cost-cutting drive. Under the plans MHI would take responsibility for booster production and launch operations.
The company has a 29.8% stake in Rocket Systems, which markets H2A commercial launches. None has been sold to date.
Source: Flight International
