Yoshinobu Launch Complex

Yoshinobu Launch Complex[1][2] (LC-Y) is a rocket launch site at the Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built for the H-II launch vehicle and later used for H-IIA and H-IIB launches.

Yoshinobu Launch Complex

Full view of the Yoshinobu Launch Complex during roll out of the H-IIA rocket in February 2014.
Launch site	Tanegashima
Coordinates	30°24′08″N 130°58′30″E
Short name	LC-Y
Operator	NASDA (former) JAXA
Total launches	56
Launch pad(s)	2
Pad 1 launch history Status Active Launches 48 First launch 3 February 1994 H-II / VEP/OREX Last launch 29 November 2020 H-IIA / JDRS-1 Associated rockets H-II H-IIA (active) Pad 2 launch history Status Active Launches 8 First launch 10 September 2009 H-IIB / HTV-1 Last launch 20 May 2020 H-IIB / Kounotori 9 (HTV-9) Associated rockets H-IIB, H3 (future)

It is the most Northern launch complex at Tanegashima, and along with the now inactive Osaki Launch Complex used for orbital launches. The Yoshinobu Launch Complex consists of two launch pads. The complex also contains a test stand for firing the LE-7 engines used in the first stage of the H-II and its derivatives.[2] Prior to launch, rockets are processed vertically in the complex's vehicle assembly building.[3] The rocket is rolled out to the launch pad on a mobile launcher platform about twelve hours before it is scheduled to launch. It takes around thirty minutes to transport the rocket from the assembly building to Pad 1.[4]