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Enhanced Epsilon

Enhanced Epsilon was the 26-metre, 95.4-tonne operational development of Japan’s Epsilon solid launch vehicle. It increased payload volume and performance and flew as Epsilon-2 through Epsilon-6 from 2016 to 2022; the first four Enhanced vehicles succeeded, while Epsilon-6 failed during ascent.

Enhanced Epsilon
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Identity

Aliases
Epsilon enhanced modelEnhanced Epsilon Launch Vehicle
Family Name
Epsilon
Full Name
Enhanced Epsilon
Status
retired
Type
rocket
Variant Name
Enhanced

Details

Description
Enhanced Epsilon was the 26-metre, 95.4-tonne operational development of Japan’s Epsilon solid launch vehicle. It increased payload volume and performance and flew as Epsilon-2 through Epsilon-6 from 2016 to 2022; the first four Enhanced vehicles succeeded, while Epsilon-6 failed during ascent.
Dimensions
Diameter
…
Height
…
First Flight Year
2,016
Last Flight Year
2,022
Operator
Parent Vehicle Family
Propulsion Configurations
  • Entries
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      first-stage
      Variant Notes
      One exact SRB-A3 first-stage solid motor.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      second-stage
      Variant Notes
      One exact M-35 second-stage solid motor.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
      Stage
      third-stage
      Variant Notes
      One exact KM-V2c third-stage solid motor.
    Name
    Enhanced Epsilon basic three-stage configuration
    Notes
    JAXA's basic Enhanced Epsilon configuration: SRB-A3 first stage, M-35 second stage, and KM-V2c third stage, without the optional PBS.
  • Entries
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      first-stage
      Variant Notes
      One exact SRB-A3 first-stage solid motor.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      core
      Propulsion System
      Role
      main
      Stage
      second-stage
      Variant Notes
      One exact M-35 second-stage solid motor.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
      Stage
      third-stage
      Variant Notes
      One exact KM-V2c third-stage solid motor.
    • Count
      1
      Placement
      upper
      Propulsion System
      Role
      upper-stage
      Stage
      post-boost
      Variant Notes
      One optional integrated hydrazine PBS for fine orbit insertion; no narrower thruster model is asserted.
    Name
    Enhanced Epsilon optional PBS configuration
    Notes
    JAXA's optional precision-insertion configuration adds one hydrazine PBS above the exact SRB-A3/M-35/KM-V2c three-stage stack.
Rocket Specs
Liftoff Mass
…
Payload Capacity
LEO
…
SSO
…
Reusability
expendable
Stages Count
3

Links

Official Url
https://global.jaxa.jp/projects/rockets/epsilon/
Wikipedia Url
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsilon_(rocket)

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 13, 2026 at 10:38:52 UTC
Updated Time
August 1, 2026 at 16:33:00 UTC
Image
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Enhanced Epsilon - AeroVia