M-V

M-V

The fifth M-V launches with the ASTRO-EII spacecraft.
Function	All-solid small orbital launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Nissan Motors[1] (-2000) IHI AEROSPACE (-2006)[2]
Country of origin	Japan
Size
Height	30.8 m (101 ft)
Diameter	2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Mass	137,500–139,000 kg (303,100–306,400 lb)
Stages	3 or 4
Capacity
Payload to low Earth orbit
Mass	1,800 kg (4,000 lb)
Payload to polar LEO
Mass	1,300 kg (2,900 lb)
Launch history
Status	Retired
Launch sites	Uchinoura M-V
Total launches	7 (M-V: 4, M-V KM: 3)
Success(es)	6 (M-V: 3, M-V KM: 3)
Failure(s)	1 (M-V)
First flight	M-V: 10 February 2000 M-V KM: 12 February 1997
Last flight	M-V: 22 September 2006 M-V KM: 9 May 2003
Type of passengers/cargo	HALCA, Nozomi, ASTRO-E, Hayabusa Suzaku, AKARI Hinode
First stage – M-14
Powered by	1 solid
Maximum thrust	3,780.345 kN (849,855 lbf)
Specific impulse	246 s (2.41 km/s)
Burn time	46 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Second stage – M-24
Powered by	1 solid
Maximum thrust	1,245.287 kN (279,952 lbf)
Specific impulse	203 s (1.99 km/s)
Burn time	71 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Third stage – M-34
Powered by	1 solid
Maximum thrust	294 kN (66,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	301 s (2.95 km/s)
Burn time	102 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Fourth stage (M-V KM) – KM-V1
Powered by	1 solid
Maximum thrust	51.9 kN (11,700 lbf)
Specific impulse	298 s (2.92 km/s)
Burn time	73 seconds
Propellant	Solid
[edit on Wikidata]

The M-V rocket, also called M-5 or Mu-5, was a Japanese solid-fuel rocket designed to launch scientific satellites. It was a member of the Mu family of rockets. The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) began developing the M-V in 1990 at a cost of 15 billion yen. It has three stages and is 30.7 m (101 ft) high, 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in diameter, and weighs about 140,000 kg (310,000 lb). It was capable of launching a satellite weighing 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) into an orbit as high as 250 km (160 mi).

The first M-V rocket launched the HALCA radio astronomy satellite in 1997, and the second the Nozomi Mars explorer in July 1998. The third rocket attempted to launch the Astro-E X-ray satellite on 10 February 2000 but failed. ISAS recovered from this setback and launched Hayabusa to 25143 Itokawa in 2003. The following M-V launch was the scientific Astro-E2 satellite, a replacement for Astro-E, which took place on 10 July 2005. The final launch was that of the Hinode (SOLAR-B) spacecraft, along with the SSSat microsat and a nanosatellite, HIT-SAT, on 22 September 2006.