Japan’s Space Agency technologically forced to destroy an H3 rocket minutes after the launch on Tuesday, March 7 due to failed space mission.
According to News Agencies, the engineers had aimed to send the 57m (187ft) rocket into space with a monitoring satellite on board. The ALOS-3 system is capable of detecting North Korean missile launches.
The H3 rocket – carrying a satellite and experimental sensor designed to monitor military activity – blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan.
The projectile followed its planned trajectory and the second stage separated as planned before the ignition failed, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a statement.
It has been presented as a cheaper alternative to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 for launching commercial and government satellites into Earth’s orbit.
Tuesday’s launch came after an aborted launch in February when the rocket failed to get off the launch pad due to faulty rocket boosters.
“Unlike the previous cancellation and postponement, this time it was a complete failure,” Hirotaka Watanabe, a space policy professor at Osaka University told Reuters News Agency.
“This will have a serious impact on Japan’s future Space Policy, Space Business, and Technological Competitiveness,” he added.
The rocket had been carrying an Advanced Land Observation Satellite, tasked primarily with Earth observation and data collection for disaster response and map making, and an experimental infrared sensor developed by the Defence Ministry that can monitor military activity including missile launches.
Japan’s science minister Keiko Nagaoka said authorities would investigate the cause of the engine failure.
She apologized for failing to meet the expectations of the public and related parties and described the development as “extremely regrettable”.
Japan had presented the H3 as a viable commercial alternative to the Falcon 9 rocket because the H3 ran on a lower-cost engine with 3D-printed parts.
The space launch business has become increasingly competitive, with major players including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and French firm Arianespace.
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Japan had presented the H3 as a viable commercial alternative to the Falcon 9 rocket because the H3 ran on a lower-cost engine with 3D-printed parts.
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Had the mission succeeded, JAXA said it had planned to launch the H3 around six times a year for the next two decades.
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Japan is deepening cooperation with the US in space and has committed to carrying cargo to the planned Gateway lunar space station which NASA plans to deploy to the moon’s orbit.
Tokyo’s broader space program also involves sending people to the moon again, including Japanese astronauts.
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