日本文科省拟将H3火箭发射能力预算提高至235亿日元

TOKYO -- Japan's science ministry intends to request roughly eightfold more in its budget toward increasing the launch capacity of the country's flagship H3 heavy-lift rocket, Nikkei has learned, in hopes of breaking SpaceX's dominance in the field.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology plans to request 23.5 billion yen ($148 million) in next fiscal year's budget for this purpose, up from 2.9 billion yen in fiscal 2026.
The additional funds would raise H3 rocket launch capacity to between six and eight vehicles annually, compared with three in 2025. The time between launches could be reduced to as little as two weeks instead of two months.
The H3 cuts launch costs significantly from its predecessor, the H-IIA. The aim is to use the newer rocket to attract overseas demand for satellite launches, an area still dominated by U.S.-based SpaceX, but the infrequency of launches has been an issue.
The bigger budget would make it possible to finish improvements at the Tanegashima Space Center launch facility before the end of fiscal 2027.
The complex in southwestern Kagoshima prefecture, operated by Japan's JAXA space agency, is undergoing renovations to rocket assembly facilities as well as constructing more tanks for storing fuel. The work includes repurposing facilities previously used for the retired H-IIA rocket for the H3.
The aviation and space industry is one of the 17 strategic sectors identified by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government. Space development includes information-gathering satellites, making it relevant to national security.
The country is in a hurry to build systems for domestic launches of government and private-industry satellites. The government's target is to raise the ratio of domestic satellites carried by domestic rockets to between 60% and 80% of the total between 2030 and 2040, from the cumulative total of around 50% between 2015 and 2024.
The science ministry's total fiscal 2027 budget request for research and development in space and aviation overall will be 375 billion yen, up sharply from 151.3 billion yen in fiscal 2026.
The plan is to put much of the budget toward R&D for a crewed lunar rover for the U.S.-led Artemis mission, an expedition Japan will also be a part of, as well as projects aimed at creating opportunities for technology testing on the lunar surface.