Mu (rocket family)


The Mu, also known as M, was a series of Japanese solid-fuelled carrier rockets, which were launched from Uchinoura between 1966 and 2006. Originally developed by Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Mu rockets were later operated by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency following ISAS becoming part of it.

Early Japanese carrier rockets

The first Mu rocket, the Mu-1 made a single, sub-orbital, test flight, on 31 October 1966. Subsequently, a series of rockets were produced, designated Mu-3 and Mu-4. In 1969 a suborbital test launch of the Mu-3D was conducted. The first orbital launch attempt for the Mu family, using a Mu-4S, was conducted on 25 September 1970, however the fourth stage did not ignite, and the rocket failed to reach orbit. On 16 February 1971, Tansei 1 was launched by another Mu-4S rocket. Two further Mu-4S launches took place during 1971 and 1972. The Mu-4S was replaced by the Mu-3C, was launched four times between 1974 and 1979, with three successes and one failure, and the Mu-3H, which was launched three times in 1977 and 1978. The Mu-3S was used between 1980 and 1984, making four launches. The final member of the Mu-3 family was the Mu-3SII, which was launched eight times between 1985 and 1995. The Mu-3 was replaced in service by the M-V.

M-V

The M-V, or Mu-5, was introduced in 1997 and retired in 2006. Seven launches, six of which were successful, were conducted. Typically, the M-V flew in a three-stage configuration, however a four-stage configuration, designated M-V KM was used 3 times, with the MUSES-B satellite in 1997, Nozomi spacecraft in 1998, and the Hayabusa spacecraft in 2003. The three-stage configuration had a maximum payload of for an orbit with altitude of and inclination of 30°, and to a polar orbit, with an altitude of. The M-V KM could launch to an orbit with 30° inclination and altitude.
The three stage M-V had a total launch mass of, whilst the total mass of a four-stage M-V KM was.

List of launches

All launches are from the Mu Launch Pad at the Uchinoura Space Center.
Flight numberDate PayloadOrbitResultRemarks
M-4S-1September 25, 1970
05:00		MS-F1LEO
M-4S-2February 16, 1971
04:00		MS-T1 LEO
M-4S-3September 28, 1971
04:00		MS-F2 LEO
M-4S-4August 19, 1972
02:40		REXS MEO
M-3C-1February 16, 1974
05:00		MS-T2 MEO
M-3C-2February 24, 1975
05:25		SRATS MEO
M-3C-3February 4, 1976
05:00		CORSALEO
M-3H-1February 19, 1977
05:15		MS-T3 MEO
M-3H-2February 4, 1978
07:00		EXOS-A MEO
M-3H-3September 16, 1978
05:00		EXOS-B HEO
M-3C-4February 21, 1979
05:00		CORSA-b LEO
M-3S-1February 17, 1980
00:40		MS-T4 LEO
M-3S-2February 21, 1981
00:30		ASTRO-A LEO
M-3S-3February 20, 1983
05:10		ASTRO-B LEO
M-3S-4February 14, 1984
08:00		EXOS-C LEO
M-3SII-1January 7, 1985
19:26		MS-T5 HTO
M-3SII-2August 18, 1985
23:33		PLANET-A HTO
M-3SII-3February 5, 1987
06:30		ASTRO-C LEO
M-3SII-4February 21, 1989
23:30		EXOS-D MEO
M-3SII-5January 24, 1990
11:46		MUSES-A LTO
M-3SII-6August 30, 1991
02:30		SOLAR-A LEO
M-3SII-7February 20, 1993
02:20		ASTRO-D/ASCA LEO
M-3SII-8January 15, 1995
13:45		EXPRESSLEO
M-V-1February 12, 1997
04:50		MUSES-B/HALCA HEO
M-V-3July 3, 1998
18:12		PLANET-B HTO
M-V-4February 10, 2000
01:30		ASTRO-ELEO
M-V-5May 9, 2003
04:29		MUSES-C HTO
M-V-6July 10, 2005
03:30		ASTRO-EII LEO
M-V-8February 21, 2006
21:28		ASTRO-F LEO
M-V-7September 22, 2006
21:36		SOLAR-B LEO

Two sub-orbital launches of the Mu family were performed prior to its first orbital flight: the 1.5 stage Mu-1 flew on October 31, 1966 at 05:04 UTC and the 3.5 stage Mu-3D flew on August 17, 1969 at 06:00 UTC.