No. 142 Plant

Manufacturing Technology for the H-II Rocket Fairing Bonded Structure

Akira Murai

KHI produces the fairing for the H-II rocket. It is positioned on top of the vehicle and has an important task in protecting the satellite payload from excessive heating and aerodynamic forces during atmospheric flight. It must open at the specified altitude to allow deployment of the satellite.
The main structure of the fairing is a bonded sandwich panel using very thin aluminum skin and a lightweight honeycomb core to facilitate the severe requirement for weight reduction.
Development started in 1986, and the first test flight(TF#1) was launched in February 1994.
We have established the manufacturing technology to produce a large bonded structure, and succeeded in producing a carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP) skin type in this development.
The next goal is to reduce the cost and fabrication span for the new type of commercial fairing for the H-IIA.

—Special Reports— K.T.R. No.142

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