Japan’s H3 rocket launch fails over engine issue

Japan’s attempt to launch its new H3 rocket from the Tanegashima space port on Tuesday faced failure upon the second-stage engine failing to ignite, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) stated.

JAXA also mentioned in a statement that “a destruct command has been transmitted to H3… because there was no possibility of achieving the mission.” The destruct command came after around 15 minutes into the flight.

The failed launch attempt followed another postponed mission last February, as the reason cited for postponing launch was faulty rocket boosters.

Hirotaka Watanabe, a space policy professor at Osaka University stated “unlike the previous cancellation and postponement, this time it was a complete failure,” as reported by Reuters.

H3 rocket has been presented as a plausible, and more affordable, alternative to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. “This will have a serious impact on Japan’s future space policy, space business and technological competitiveness,” Watanabe added.

Japan’s science minister Keiko Nagaoka expressed her regret the launch attempt failed, and apologised for “failing to meet the expectations of the public and related parties,” adding responsible parties will investigate the engine failure cause.

If succeeded, this launch attempt would have placed Japan’s rocket in space ahead of Ariane 6, the European Space Agency’s lower-cost rocket scheduled to lunch later in 2023.