16
$\begingroup$

I clicked an advertisement in the sidebar of an Economist article and it took me to this infomercial from Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Group's Spectra website How new technology is democratizing access to space

Does anyone recognize these rockets, and their location?

Original can be viewed at the website linked above, here's what the page looks like with a watermarked version from pixtastock Thanks to @JCRM for the tip

Mitsubishi Heavy Industry "How new technology is democratizing access to space"

$\endgroup$
0

2 Answers 2

25
$\begingroup$

It looks like JAXA's H-II launch vehicle to me.

I believe we're looking at the business ends of the core stage (right) and the one of the side boosters (left).

The H-II was retired in 1999 and superseded by the H-IIA, so these stacks are on display at JAXA's Tsukuba Centre - the vehicle and booster can be seen in the aerial image on the homepage. Here's another angle.

enter image description here

$\endgroup$
1
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Holy blown out image, batman... $\endgroup$
    – Davidw
    Commented Jun 15, 2019 at 0:10
31
$\begingroup$

Just to add to @Jack's correct answer you can see the rockets in Ibaraki, Japan via Google Maps, you can see the two rockets (and even make out the red rocket part):

enter image description here

(Just FYI - I screenshotted your image (just the rocket part), saved as a .jpg, then did a reverse Google Image Search which quickly found the rockets.)

$\endgroup$
3
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I wonder if they didn't have room to install both boosters or if they didn't have a spare booster casing for the display? $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 14, 2019 at 0:13
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @RussellBorogove - Good question - I've Googled around a bit and can't find why there's just one. However, I would bet if they did have access to both boosters, they'd have them both displayed. I can't find anything about one exploding/being lost for some reason, but I suspect there's just one in existence now (or at least in good enough condition to display). $\endgroup$
    – BruceWayne
    Commented Jun 14, 2019 at 2:48
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @BruceWayne Or they wanted people to be able to see one side of the main rocket without it being obscured by the booster. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 14, 2019 at 14:03

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.