MHI Ships the Core of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle (H-IIA No.42) from Nagoya Aerspace Systems Works Tobishima Plant

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) shipped the core of the H-IIA Launch Vehicle (H-IIA No. 42) from the Tobishima Plant of the Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works in Aichi Prefecture to the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture. The Tobishima Plant with its highest quality has been contributing to the world top class successful launch rate tracing back since the first shipment of the vehicle’s test flight.

We will continue to contribute to the H-IIA launch service and the development of the H3 launch vehicle by focusing on maintaining high technology and quality in space and further improving productivity.

■Omran Sharaf, Emirates Mars Mission(Note) Project Director

With the shipping of H-IIA, we are excited to cross another milestone in the preparation of this unique mission and the countdown to the launch. We are delighted to be working again with our partners at MHI. As we embark on this exciting mission to Mars, it’s important to highlight the significance of collaboration that has played a vital role in the realisation of this Emirati Project. Throughout the development of this mission, global partners, worked together with us to meet our launch target in 2020, despite the different challenges.

• EMM is a joint project between MBRSC and the UAE Space Agency.

■Atsutoshi Tamura, Chief H-IIA/H-IIB Launch Officer, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

We will launch Emirates Mars Mission’s (EMM) Hope of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The mission aims to reach Mars in 2021, the 50th year anniversary of the founding of the UAE. We will now transport the core of the rocket to Tanegashima and start the operation of the launch site, but we will not do anything special. As with all the rockets launched in the past, we will proceed with preparations without overlooking signs of incompatibility by carefully carrying out each work step by step. We are determined to meet the strong expectations of our customer for this commemorative mission by the outcome of the launch success.