N-II (rocket) explained

Function:	Carrier rocket
Manufacturer:	McDonnell Douglas (design) Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (production)
Country-Origin:	United States (design) Japan (production)
Height:	35m (115feet)
Diameter:	2.44m (08.01feet)
Mass:	132690kg (292,530lb)
Stages:	2 or 3
Capacities:	Location: LEO Kilos: 2000kg (4,000lb) Location: GTO Kilos: 730kg (1,610lb)
Family:	Delta
Status:	Retired
Sites:	LA-N, Tanegashima
Launches:	8
Success:	8
First:	11 February 1981
Last:	19 February 1987
Stagedata:	Type: booster Castor 2 Number: 9 Engines: 1 TX-354-3 Thrust: 258.9kN Si: 262 sec Burntime: 37 seconds Fuel: Solid Type: stage Stageno: First Thor-ELT Engines: 1 MB-3-3 Thrust: 866.7kN Si: 290 sec Burntime: 270 seconds Fuel: RP-1/LOX Type: stage Delta-F Stageno: Second Engines: 1 AJ-10-118F Thrust: 41.3kN Si: 280 sec Burntime: 335 seconds Fuel: HNO3/UDMH Type: stage Star-37E Stageno: Third Diff: optional Engines: 1 solid Thrust: 68kN Si: 284 sec Burntime: 42 seconds Fuel: Solid Type: stage Burner-2 Stageno: Third Diff: alternative, optional Engines: 1 solid Thrust: 43.6kN Si: 285 sec Burntime: 42 seconds Fuel: Solid

The N-II or N-2 was a derivative of the American Delta rocket, produced under licence in Japan. It replaced the N-I-rocket in Japanese use. It used a Thor-ELT first stage, a Delta-F second stage, nine Castor SRMs, and on most flights either a Star-37E or Burner-2 upper stage, identical to the US Delta 0100 series configurations. Eight were launched between 1981 and 1987, before it was replaced by the H-I, which featured Japanese-produced upper stages. All eight launches were successful.

Launch history

Flight No.	Date / time (UTC)	Rocket, Configuration	Launch site	Payload	Payload mass	Orbit	Customer	Launch outcome
7(F)	11 February 1981 08:30		Tanegashima	ETS-4 (Kiku-3)^[1]		GTO
8(F)	10 August 1981 20:03		Tanegashima	GMS-2 (Himawari-2)^[2]		GTO
10(F)	4 February 1983 08:37		Tanegashima	CS-2A (Sakura-2A)^[3]		GTO
11(F)	5 August 1983 20:29		Tanegashima	CS-2B (Sakura-2B)		GTO
12(F)	23 January 1984 07:58		Tanegashima	BS-2A (Yuri-2A)^[4]		GTO
13(F)	2 August 1984 20:30		Tanegashima	GMS-3 (Himawari-3)		GTO
14(F)	12 February 1986 07:55		Tanegashima	BS-2B (Yuri-2B)		GTO
16(F)	19 February 1987 01:23		Tanegashima	MOS-1 (Momo-1)^[5]		LEO

See also

• Comparison of orbital launchers families
• Delta rocket
• H-I
• H-II
• H-IIA
• N-I rocket
• PGM-17 Thor

References

• Web site: Delta. Mark. Wade. Encyclopedia Astronautica. 2008-08-31. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130817180906/http://astronautix.com/lvs/delta.htm. 2013-08-17.
• Web site: Thor. Jonathan. McDowell. Orbital and Suborbital Launch Database. Jonathan's Space Report. 2008-08-31. 2020-08-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20200801135201/http://planet4589.org/space/lvdb/launch/Thor. dead.
• Web site: N-2. Gunter. Krebs. Gunter's Space Page. 2008-08-31.

Notes and References

1. Web site: JAXA Engineering Test Satellite IV "KIKU-3" (ETS-IV). JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. en. 2020-03-16.
2. Web site: JAXA Geostationary Meteorological Satellite "Himawari" (GMS). JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. en. 2020-03-16.
3. Web site: JAXA Communication Satellite "Sakura" (CS). JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. en. 2020-03-16.
4. Web site: JAXA Broadcasting Satellite "Yuri" (BS). JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. en. 2020-03-16.
5. Web site: JAXA Marine Observation Satellite-1 "Momo-1" (MOS-1). JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. en. 2020-03-16.