The H3 rocket is Japan’s first new series in more than 22 years and cost £1.22 billion to develop. It was carrying an Advanced Land Observation Satellite, which observes the Earth and accumulates data for disaster response and mapmaking.
Japan’s space agency was compelled to destroy a newly launched rocket.
After the ignition for the second stage of its launch failed, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) had to send a self-destruct command to its H3 rocket 14 minutes into the flight.
It occurs just three weeks after the country’s space program was forced to cancel a launch at the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan due to a distinct technical issue.
Officials are investigating the cause of Tuesday’s malfunction and are expected to release preliminary findings later.
In a statement, JAXA said, “It was determined that the rocket could not complete its mission, so the command to destroy it was sent.”
Keiko Nagaoka, Japan’s Minister of Science and Technology, stated that the government had established a task force to investigate the “extremely regrettable” failure.
This will have a significant impact on Japan’s future space policy, space commerce, and technological competitiveness, according to Hirotaka Watanabe, an expert in space policy at Osaka University.
The H3 rocket is Japan’s first new class in 22 years and cost £1.22 billion (200 billion yen).
It was created by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a replacement for the H-2A rocket. Which will be retired following its 50th launch.
However, the development of the projectile has encountered obstacles. Its release was delayed by more than two years due to a development error.
Simplifying its design, manufacturing, and running cut rocket launch costs in half to £307,000. (50 million yen).
The 60-meter-long rocket was carrying an Advanced Land Observation Satellite. Which primarily observes Earth and accumulates data for disaster response and mapmaking.
It also had a Japanese Ministry of Defense infrared sensor to track missile strikes.
The failure is a major setback for Japan’s space program, which confronts increasing competition from SpaceX and Arianespace.
