space travel
False launch for Japan’s new launch vehicle
The Japanese launch vehicle H3 at launch. Shortly thereafter, she self-destructed. Photo
© Tanegashima Space Center/Kyodo News/AP/dpa
Fiasco for Japan’s rocket program: An attempt to send a newly developed launch vehicle into space with a satellite ends in its self-destruction.
Japan’s space program has suffered a serious setback with the self-destruct of a newly developed launch vehicle. Since the second rocket stage’s engine did not ignite and the mission had no chance of success, the Jaxa space agency triggered the self-destruct of the H3 carrier rocket on Tuesday a few minutes after liftoff from Tanegashima Cosmodrome in southwestern Japan.
On board was an observation satellite with a missile early warning system from the Japanese Ministry of Defense. The H3 should be the catalyst for Japan’s competitiveness in the hotly contested international satellite launch business. The debris fell into a designated area in the sea, Jaxa said.
“Setback for Japan’s space ambitions”
Jaxa President Hiroshi Yamakawa apologized for not meeting expectations. Efforts will be made quickly to find out the cause and restore confidence in Japan’s space agency. “The failure marks a serious setback for Japan’s space ambitions,” said the business daily Nikkei Asia. The H3 is the successor to the reliable H2A rocket and Japan’s first new development of a large launch vehicle in around 30 years. At 63 meters high and 5.2 meters in diameter, the H3 is said to be more powerful, cheaper and safer than the H2A, which is due to be phased out in fiscal 2024.
The planned maiden flight of the H3 rocket was canceled at the last minute on February 17 due to an electronic fault. This launch attempt was already two years behind schedule. After the repeated attempts and the fiasco on Tuesday, Science Minister Keiko Nagaoka apologized to the public and called the false start “extremely regrettable”. Just last October, Jaxa had to trigger the self-destruct of the smaller Epsilon-6 rocket, also just a few minutes after launch, because it had deviated from its intended trajectory.
Dubbed Test Flight #1, the now-failed H3 mission was intended to launch the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-3 into space as a key government tool in disaster response. The satellite also carried a Defense Department sensor. It should be tested whether it can detect the launch of ballistic missiles.
Profitable satellite launch business
With the H3, Japan not only wants to gain a stronger foothold in the lucrative and increasingly competitive satellite launch business. According to Nikkei Asia, it was designed to meet growing demand for launch vehicles after Russia decided to withdraw its Soyuz rockets from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. In addition, the H3, which was developed over eight years, is also to send an unmanned cargo transporter to the International Space Station ISS as part of the Artemis program run by the USA.
Priced at five billion yen ($40 million) per rocket launch, the H3 is about half the price of its predecessor but has 1.3 times the capacity for satellites. The launch of the H3 was actually planned for the 2020 fiscal year, but was postponed due to problems in the development of a main engine.