Just before the H3 vehicle, 57 meter (187ft), was set to lift off on Friday, Japan aborted the launch of its first brand-new medium-lift rocket in three decades because the secondary booster engines strapped to its side failed to ignite.
During the live-streamed event, the rocket’s main engine shut down when the launch countdown had reached zero, leaving the rocket standing on the launch pad at the Tanegashima spaceport with the payload ALOS-3 land observation satellite, attached with an infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missiles.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said an investigation is underway to identify the cause of the failure.
The H3 rocket was meant to improve Japan’s independent approach to space and boost its ability to have a larger share of the global launch market from its competitors, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Japan’s rocket was designed to put government and commercial satellites into orbit and provide supplies to the International Space Station. As a part of Tokyo’s collaboration with the United States in space, later versions will also carry supplies to the Gateway lunar space station that NASA is planning to build as part of its programme to take people to the moon.
The United States is said to provide Japan with a seat on one of its crewed lunar missions.
The H3’s builder and launch manager, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, predicted the rocket would advance its space ambitions as SpaceX plans commercial launches with its reusable rockets, including the Falcon 9.
A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in September, estimated the cost of a Falcon 9 launch to low earth orbit at $2,600 per kilogram. The equivalent cost of H3’s predecessor the H-II is $10,500.
Before the launch, a Mitsubishi Heavy spokesperson said, “With the H3 we are aiming to halve the cost per launch.”
A successful first mission would have resulted in the Japanese rocket into space ahead of the European Space Agency’s plan to launch its new lower-cost Ariane vehicle this year.
