Mitsubishi SpaceJet

SpaceJet
JA21MJ, the first aircraft of its type
General information
Type	Regional jet
National origin	Japan
Manufacturer	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Designer	Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation
Status	Cancelled[1]
Number built	7 MRJ90 test aircraft 1 MRJ70 test aircraft[2]
History
Introduction date	\
First flight	11 November 2015

The Mitsubishi SpaceJet (Japanese: 三菱スペースジェット, originally named Mitsubishi Regional Jet) was a regional jet project by Japanese company Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (MAC), a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) subsidiary.

MHI first announced the concept in June 2007, then targeting certification for 2012, as the first Japanese airliner since the 1962 NAMC YS-11. After a delayed development, the maiden flight of the MRJ90 took place on 11 November 2015. In June 2019, Mitsubishi rebranded the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ, Japanese: 三菱リージョナルジェット) program as the SpaceJet. As flight testing took longer than expected, the scheduled entry into service was further pushed back until development was first paused in October 2020, and subsequently cancelled altogether in February 2023.

The airframe was made mainly in aluminium with a carbon fibre composite empennage. The low-wing twinjet was powered by underwing Pratt & Whitney PW1000Gs, and was the first program to select the geared turbofan. The M90 (originally named MRJ90) was to seat 86 to 96, while the smaller MRJ70 was to accommodate 70 to 80 passengers. The MRJ70 was replaced by the SpaceJet M100, stretched by 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) to better meet US scope clauses at 76 seats with premium seating. It was comparable with the Embraer E-Jet E2 family.