On Friday, the H3 next-generation rocket from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) failed to launch because its two solid rocket boosters failed to ignite. Although the main liquid engines had successfully ignited, the launch was halted because the solid rocket boosters did not ignite.
The H3 was set to launch in the middle of the morning from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwest Japan, where the incident took place. White smoke emanating from the spacecraft’s main engines in TV footage indicated a successful first ignition while the spacecraft remained still on its launch pad.
Nobuyoshi Fujimoto, a JAXA spokesman, said that the company will look into the problem and reschedule the launch. The H3 rocket, which replaces the H-IIA model from JAXA, was created to enable more frequent commercial launches and to increase cost effectiveness and reliability. This setback is not JAXA’s only recent launch failure; in October of last year, the organisation had to instruct its solid-fuel Epsilon rocket to self-destruct. Satellites were launched into orbit by the Epsilon rocket to showcase cutting-edge technology.
The failure of the H3 rocket’s launch represents a significant setback for Japan’s efforts to keep up its competitiveness in the international space industry. Although the nation has a long history of success in space exploration, it is now up against more and more rivals, including China and the United States.
In spite of the failure of the H3 launch, JAXA plans to increase the frequency of commercial launches and improve space technology in the near future. However, JAXA will investigate the issue and work to resolve it before rescheduling the launch.
