Japan's new rocket H3 fails after lift, officials issue destruct command; check details
Japan's new rocket in three decades was carrying the ALOS-3, a disaster management land observation satellite, which was also equipped with an experimental infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missile launches.
FollowJapan's new medium-lift rocket on Tuesday (March 7) failed on its debut flight in space after the launcher's second-stage engine did not ignite as planned. This comes as a massive blow to its efforts to cut the cost of accessing space and compete against Elon Musk's SpaceX.
In a live-streamed broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) showed, the 57-metre (187 ft) tall H3 rocket lifted off without a hitch from the Tanegashima space port.
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However, upon reaching space, the second-stage engine of the rocket failed to ignite, forcing mission officials to manually destroy the vehicle.
"It was decided the rocket could not complete its mission, so the destruct command was sent," a launch broadcast commentator from JAXA said. "So what happened? It's something we will have to investigate looking at all the data."
"Unlike the previous cancellation and postponement, this time it was a complete failure," said Hirotaka Watanabe, a professor at Osaka University with expertise in space policy.
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"This will have a serious impact on Japan's future space policy, space business and technological competitiveness," he added.
Japan's new rocket in three decades was carrying the ALOS-3, a disaster management land observation satellite, which was also equipped with an experimental infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missile launches.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) (7011.T) the builder of H3 said that it was confirming the situation surrounding the rocket with JAXA and did not have an immediate comment.
The MHI has predicted that the H3 will launch for half as much as its predecessor, the H-II, which will help it compete in a market that is increasingly controlled by SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket.
