The new LE-9 engine for Japan’s H3 rocket continues to have problems and requires another redesign. As such the first flight of the H3 will be delayed a year, as late as Q1 2022, and its second flight will follow about a year after that.
The additional delay means Japan may have problems meeting its logistical commitments to the International Space Station. The next JAXA cargo mission to the ISS on HTV-X1 had been slated for the third H3 launch, and scheduled for February 2022, a date that was already delayed due to earlier problems with development of the H3 rocket. As JAXA is now redesigning both its flagship rocket and signature human spaceflight support module at the same time, further delays are likely to pile up due to any issues with one or the other.
Though JAXA could theoretically pair the HTV-X with another rocket available commercially, or even, perhaps, replace the missed February 2022 cargo run with one or more commercial ISS resupply routes from the various space companies now offering such services, it would be a distinct shift in its space policy goals and also will cost more money than originally budgeted.
