Friday’s launch of a new rocket series – Japan’s first in more than two decades – was aborted when its auxiliary booster missiles failed to ignite. It is the second unsuccessful launch in just four months for Japan’s space program.
Due to system failures, the Japanese space agency canceled the launch of its first new rocket in over two decades.
After two auxiliary rockets failed to ignite, JAXA stopped the launch of its flagship H3 rocket.
Friday’s launch at the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan was aborted after smoke began pouring from the main engine, as evidenced by a television broadcast.
Masashi Okada, the mission manager for JAXA, stated that “many people were anticipating and hoping for this day” and that he feels “extremely regretful and frustrated in me.”
He added, “We will investigate the cause as quickly as possible and make every effort to try again.”
Japan space agency abandons rocket attempt
Mr. Okada stated that the rocket’s main engine ignited smoothly. But an unidentified problem, most likely electrical, prevented the signal that would have ignited the rocket’s auxiliary booster rockets.
He hopes to fix the issue before March 10 to start again.
H3 contains an observational satellite equipped with an experimental sensor that could monitor and detect missile launches. H3 is the first new series to emerge from Japan in more than 22 years.
The satellite would also be used to compile data for mapmaking and disaster reaction planning.
In October, JAXA’s Epsilon-series missile failed to launch.
Bad weather had already delayed Friday’s launch from earlier in the week, and a delay in engine development for the new £1.2 billion aircraft had pushed back its debut from 2020 to 2021.
