SS-520

SS-520 Sounding Rocket

Mission Profile

The SS-520 (SS-520 Sounding Rocket) is a three-stage Japanese solid-fuelled launch vehicle in the S-520 family, the world's smallest orbital launch vehicle, developed from the S-520 sounding rocket with an added third stage. Standing 9.7 m tall with a 0.5 m diameter and a liftoff mass of 2.6 tonnes, it generates 186 kN of first-stage thrust and can deliver 4 kg to low Earth orbit. First flying in February 1998 as a sounding rocket, the SS-520 achieved orbital status in February 2018 when it placed the 3 kg TRICOM-1R cubesat into orbit, demonstrating that even the smallest rockets could reach space.