Japan calls off H3 rocket launch after engine failure
February 17, 2023Japan's space agency aborted the launch of the country's flagship H3 rocket on Friday due to an apparent ignition problem.
The rocket is Japan's first new medium-light launcher in nearly three decades.
It failed to lift off as a pair of auxiliary rockets strapped to the side of the space vehicle did not ignite, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.
Failure to launch
The event was being streamed live from the JAXA Tanegashima spaceport.
TV footage showed the 57-meter (187 feet) rocket sitting motionless on its launch pad, as white smoke emerged from its main engines.
The rocket, developed for more frequent commercial launches, was to carry an observation satellite also fitted with an experimental infrared sensor that could detect missile launches.
"I know many people were waiting for and looking forward to this day. I'm so sorry and I feel extremely regretful and frustrated myself,'' JAXA mission manager Masashi Okada said at a news conference, as he wiped tears.
dvv/fb (AFP, AP, Reuters)