Japan’s second H3 rocket launch failed and the mission was aborted.
The H3 Rocket failure is a setback for Japan’s space agency JAXA, which marketed it as a new, versatile, and affordable flagship.
But, the initial launch was put off for a number of years, and last month’s attempt was unsuccessful when the solid rocket boosters did not ignite.
The rocket took off at 10:37 a.m. on Tuesday from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwest Japan, and at first glance, the launch appeared to be successful (0137GMT).
The first stage separation seemed to go according to plan, but problems quickly started to show.
While the rocket reached about 300 kilometres above the earth, speakers on the JAXA live feed said, “It seems that the velocity is coming down.
Details:
We continue to confirm the scenario, the command centre stated. It has not yet been verified that the second stage engine will ignite.
After a brief interruption, the live broadcast resumed with the message “We are presently checking the status. Kindly wait.
The command centre verified the awful news when it resumed.
Because there was no chance of completing the mission, “destruct command has been delivered to H3.”
Although JAXA is anticipated to hold a press conference later, there was no clear explanation for why the launch failed.
The H3 rocket, which has been suggested as a potential rival to Space X’s Falcon 9. Was created for more frequent commercial launches and improved cost effectiveness and dependability.
The command centre said, “We continue to confirm the situation. The second stage engine ignition has not yet been confirmed.
It was created by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the H-IIA model’s replacement, which made its debut in 2001.
The ALOS-3 observation satellite, hailed for having enhanced resolution and meant to aid in disaster management and other monitoring, was launched on Tuesday.
The event is not JAXA’s only recent setback.
The agency’s solid-fuel Epsilon rocket had to get a self-destruct order in October 2022 after liftoff. It was placing satellites into orbit to display state-of-the-art technologies.
Japan’s sole botched rocket launch since 2003 happened at that time.
The Epsilon rocket with solid fuel has been in use since 2013. It is a replacement for the solid-fuel “M-5” rocket, which was phased out in 2006 because of its high cost, and is smaller than the nation’s previous liquid-fueled type.
