Japanese rocket forced to self-destruct after a failed flight

Second launch attempt rocket modern japanese H3 on the Tuesday after takeoff, it failed and was ordered by the Japanese space agency to self-destruct, deciding it would be unable to complete its mission.

Failure is a blow to the Japanese agency JAXAwho announced H3 like its flexible, low-cost flagship.

The project was years behind schedule, and the first attempt to launch rocket it went out of action in February because its boosters failed.

On this occasion H3 was able to take off at 10:37 (01:37 GMT), but the live announcement JAXA warned that the speed rocket seems to have decreased.

The separation of the first phase went as planned, but then there were signs of problems at the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan. Japan.

“It seems like the speed is dropping,” the presenters said live JAXA. The command center later reported that “ignition of the second stage engine has not been confirmed”.

The live broadcast was briefly interrupted by the message: “We are currently reviewing the situation. Please wait”.

When the transmission resumed, the command center announced that “the order to destroy the H3 because I didn’t have a chance to complete the mission.”

vice president JAXAYasuhiro Funo stated at a press conference that rocket he was not going to enter the planned trajectory without confirming the ignition of the second stage engine.

The agency believes that the wreckage of the wrecked ship washed up in the waters off the eastern Philippines, it added.

“Restore Trust”

The agency’s president, Hiroshi Yamakawa, said the cause of the outage would be investigated, without specifying how long the investigation would take or whether a new launch would be attempted.

“When a disruption like this occurs, it’s important to show how quickly we can act and be transparent about our findings,” he said.

“My responsibility is to focus on identifying the cause and work to restore trust in our rockets”, he added.

He H3 This is a booster for frequent commercial use, which is more reliable and more cost-effective. It has been listed as a possible competitor to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.

“Rocket H3 This rocket Access to space is very important not only for the Japanese government, but also for private sector companies,” said Yamakawa.

JAXA explained in the project description that he was confident he could launch H3 six times a year for two decades to support Japan’s space industry.

Developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. H3 It is the successor to the 2001 H-IIA model.

On Tuesday, the ALOS-3 high-resolution surveillance satellite, designed to help with disaster management and other missions, was launched.

October 2022 JAXA was forced to issue a self-destruction order for her rocket Epsilon with several satellites after launch.

It was the first missed launch Japan since 2003.

He rocket The Epsilon solid propellant has been in operation since 2013. It is smaller than the previous Japanese liquid fuel model and successor to the M-5, retired in 2006 due to high cost. (AFP)

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