The Japanese space agency announced on Tuesday that the first launch of the country's new flagship space rocket had failed after 15 minutes of flight.
According to a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA announcement, "a destruct command has been transmitted to H3 about 10:52 a.m. (Japan Standard Time)," indicating that the Japan H3 rocket was destroyed at that time since the mission could not be completed, CNN reported.
Japanese broadcasting company NHK reported that the Japan H3 rocket second stage failed to ignite.
The Japan H3 rocket , which launched from southern Japan's Tanegashima Space Center, carried the Advance Land Observation Satellite-3 (ALOS-3), a ground-mapping and imaging satellite that the space agency stated will improve disaster management.
WATCH: "Destruct command has been transmitted to H3 because there was no possibility of achieving the mission."
— Bloomberg (@business) March 7, 2023
Japan aborts its next-generation rocket launch in a blow to hopes of rivaling SpaceX https://t.co/lwLdPQaEx0 pic.twitter.com/4DZESCkfy7
According to the report, "all land regions of not just Japan but throughout the entire planet" will be surveyed by ALOS-3.
Since 2015, Elon Musk's SpaceX has been successfully launching and landing its Falcon orbital rockets from afar. On the other hand, the Japan H3 rocket from JAXA is cheaper and makes use of huge, recyclable components. The rocket, however, is not capable of being recovered and reused.
An Investigation Will Be Launched
After the failed launch, Mitsubishi Heavy stock dropped as much as 3.2%, its worst intraday drop in a month.
The launch on Tuesday followed an unsuccessful attempt in February when the rocket's boosters malfunctioned and prevented it from leaving the launch pad, per Mint.
Hirotaka Watanabe, professor of space policy at Osaka University, remarked that the latest Japan Rocket launch "was a complete failure," in contrast to prior cancellations and delays.
The future of Japan's space policy, space business, and technical competitiveness would be negatively affected, he said.
Keiko Nagaoka, Japan's Minister of Education and Science, has said that an investigation would be conducted to determine what caused the engine to malfunction, per BBC.
She issued an apology for "failing to meet the expectations of the public and related parties" and defined the Japan Rocket Launch Failure as "extremely regrettable."
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