HOPE (H-II Orbiting Plane) was a Japanese experimental spaceplane project designed by a partnership between NASDA and NAL (both now part of JAXA), started in the 1980s.

By 1990, NASDA had established the basic concept for the HOPE spaceplane, proposing an unmanned vehicle that would launch atop the in-development H-II rocket, dock with the Space Station Freedom to deliver cargo, and land autonomously on a runway.

It was believed this would result in a "quick and dirty" cargo supply system for ISS, which was suffering from continued delays due to problems with the Shuttle program.

A re-evaluation of the entire space program followed, and budget constraints later forced a reduction in overall funding by US$690 million to US$4.22 billion for the five-year spending period between 1998 and 2002.

Hughes pulled out of the H-IIA project at about this time; they had initially purchased ten launches on the system and it was considered a major international success for NASDA.

[5] As the 2003 deadline approached a number of debates broke out about the launcher profile, with many arguing that the H-II should be replaced with a jet-powered cargo aircraft for an air-start.