Japan’s H3 rocket returned to flight Friday with the debut of a new low-cost version, a much-needed breakthrough for the country’s new flagship rocket, which has been plagued by mission failures while facing an increasingly competitive space industry.The H3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on the southwestern Japanese island on Friday morning and its second stage successfully reached the targeted orbit, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said during its livestream.Six small satellites developed by universities and other organizations believed to be carried by the vehicle also separated successfully, JAXA said.Friday’s mission marked the debut of a new “30 configuration” of the H3 equipped with triple liquid-fuel LE-9 engines and no rocket boosters, intended to be a lower-cost version making the series more competitive. This variant is one of the three variants designed to meet the wide range of customer needs.The sixth successful launch follows two failures of the new model that replaced the mainstay H-2A, which had a near-perfect success record.The H3 rocket is designed to be more cost-effective in a global space market dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Japan views a stable, commercially competitive transportation capability as key to its space program and national security.During its maiden flight in March 2023, H3 failed to ignite its second stage engine. Then in December, the rocket launched with a navigation satellite, but failed to place the payload into the planned orbit due to a malfunction in the second stage engine.H3 had been shut down since December and a third failure on Friday would be a major blow to Japan’s future space projects, including a Mars mission planned for 2028. A smaller Epsilon S series has also been delayed to 2024 after a fire during a test.JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which are co-developing the rocket, ultimately hope to launch H3 six to eight times a year.