Self-Destruct Command Issued After Liftoff for Japan’s New H3 Rocket
Rocket carried sensor in hope of detecting North Korea’s ballistic missile launches
Japan’s next generation “H3” rocket, carrying the advanced optical satellite “Daichi 3”, leaves the launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan on March 7, 2023. (STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images)
JAXA said it has had to destroy its new medium-lift H3 rocket that it launched toward space on Tuesday.
The self destruct command was issued after the vehicle’s second-stage engine failed to ignite after liftoff and it was determined that the mission could not succeed.
The 57-metre (187 ft) tall H3 rocket lifted off from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Tanegashima space port, following an aborted launch last month after a failed ignition on the launch pad.
It was carrying the ALOS-3, a disaster management land observation satellite that is also equipped with an experimental infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missile launches.
The launch, which is a partnership between JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy, was Japan’s first exercise back in the space rocket arena in three decades.
Reuters contributed to this report.
