The second attempt to launch a newly developed Japanese H3 launcher into space also failed. On Tuesday, the Japanese space agency JAXA had to initiate the self-destruct of the rocket shortly after launch.
The reason given was that the second rocket stage propulsion failed to ignite. The successor to the reliable H2A launcher – Japan’s first new development of a large launch vehicle for about 30 years – lifted off Tuesday from the Tanegashima spaceport in the southwest of the island kingdom.
The missile’s scheduled maiden flight was canceled at the last minute on February 17 due to an electronic malfunction. This launch attempt was already two years behind schedule. After Tuesday’s repeated attempts and fiasco, the conservative Japanese daily “Sankei Shimbun” wrote of a “disappointment”. The H3 should become the catalyst for an expansion of Japan’s aerospace industry.
JAXA and industrial conglomerate Mitsubishi Heavy are looking to meet growing demand for launchers after Russia decided to withdraw its Soyuz rockets from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, according to the Nikkei Asia newspaper. According to Nikkei Asia, the now-destroyed missile contained an observation satellite that also contained a missile warning system for Japan’s Defense Ministry.
Source: Krone
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