Japan Aborts 1st Launch Attempt of H3 Rocket After Engine Failure

Japan's first attempt to launch its H3 rocket was a failure. The launch was livestream by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Japan's H3 Rocket Launch Fails

On Thursday, JAXA made its first-ever launch attempt for its H3 rocket. The test flight was done at Tanegashima Space Center. It was supposed to send an Earth-observing satellite to orbit.

H3 made it through the countdown to T-0, which occurred at 8: 17 p.m. EST (0137 GMT and 10:37 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Feb. 17). The two LE-9 engines powered the vehicle's core stage ignited. However, the two solid rocket boosters did not. The launch was aborted due to engine failure, according to the commentators during the livestream, according to Space.com.

It's unclear why the boosters did not ignite, and it may need more time to investigate the issue. The result disappointed many because JAXA had high hopes as the rocket was designed to be flexible and cost-effective. It was meant to replace Japan's H-IIA rocket.

JAXA and its commercial partner, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, have already been working on the rocket for a decade.

JAXA Apologizes After It Aborted H3 Rocket Launch

AXA mission manager Masashi Okada was emotional during a news conference following the aborted mission. Okada apologized to the people who waited and looked forward to the event. According to him, he was extremely regretful and frustrated, Phys.org reported.

Okaya insisted that even if they aborted the launch mission, it wasn't a failure because it was suspended during the countdown due to safety features that functioned properly.

Okada explained that the ignition of the primary SE-9 engine was successful, but the subsequent electric signal to ignite a pair of auxiliary booster SRB-3s was not transmitted due to an unidentified process anomaly. He stated that the issue is not with the engines but instead with an electrical system of the first stage.

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Okada said they would investigate the cause as soon as possible and make every effort to try another launch. However, he did not provide a timeline but said he hopes to resolve the issue and attempt another launch before March 10, when the current launch window closes.

The incident was still a setback for Japan's space program, which also suffered an earlier launch failure in October of an Epsilon-series rocket.

H3 was supposed to be launched earlier in the week but was pushed back due to the weather after a two-year postponement. It was initially scheduled for launch in 2020, but they encountered delays in engine development.

Everything About The H3 Rocket

The H3 rocket is worth 200 billion yen ($1.5 billion). It was developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the successor to the H-IIA rocket, which is due to retire after its milestone 50th launch within the coming years, ending its 20-year service.

H3 is 196 feet long and can accommodate more satellites and payloads than its 174-foot predecessor.

The satellite that was supposed to fly Thursday was the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-3 (ALOS-3), also known as DAICHI-3.

ALOS-3 aims to be among the key tools for disaster management and countermeasures of central and local governments. It has unique imaging capabilities to deliver photos before and after the disaster.