Japan's space agency is making final preparations to launch its new flagship rocket for the first time on Friday morning. The H3 launch vehicle is the first large model developed by Japan in about 30 years.

H3 is scheduled to lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima at 10:37 a.m.

It will carry the Earth observation satellite DAICHI-3, which will be used to grasp the situation in disaster-hit areas.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, began developing H3 in partnership with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 2014.

Engineers worked to increase the payload by 30 percent from the current mainstay rocket H2A and to cut launch costs by roughly half.

The development project cost more than 200 billion yen, or about 1.5 billion dollars.

The first H3 launch was initially scheduled for fiscal 2020, but postponed twice due to difficulties developing a new main engine system.

Japan hopes H3 will outstrip foreign rivals in the ever-competitive rocket launch business. H3 will also play a role in the US-led Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts back to the moon for space exploration.

H3 is roughly up to 63 meters long. But the model used for its maiden flight is some 57 meters long as it has a shorter fairing, a protective nose cone covering the payload.