Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Launch Services (MHI Launch Services) took over operation of the H-II launcher from JAXA in 2007, going on to operate it through the present, while simultaneously developing the more-capable H-III launcher. This division is a smaller part of the much-larger Mtsubishi conglomerate.
Mtsubishi Heavy Industries is a well-funded international conglomerate; funding is not a factor in this line of business at this time.
Mitsubishi has a history stretching back into the nineteenth century. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, specifically, was formed in 1934. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Launch Services (MHI Launch Services) division began operations in 2007, when the company took over the H-II series of launchers from JAXA. Since then, MHI LAunch Services went on to develop the larger and more-capable H-III launcher.
Launch to augment the existing X-Band communications capabilities of the Japanese military.
