TO THE STARS AND BEYOND
Early on a rainy February morning, on the seaside launch pad of a remote Japanese island, Mitsubishi H-IIA rocket No. 30 is awaiting its rendezvous with destiny. Once successfully placed into orbit, a satellite began its mission in space while far below the rocket launch team celebrated yet another in a growing list of successful launches.
“No matter how often I witness our launches, I always get very nervous at the moment of the launch, but the sheer pleasure of success is always immense,” said Hisakazu Mizutani, head of Integrated Defense & Space Systems at MHI, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.