Japan’s H3 rocket, the first new medium launch vehicle in 30 years, failed to take off Friday after two auxiliary booster engines mounted on the side of the spacecraft failed to fire.
During the live-streaming event, after the launch countdown reached zero, H3’s main engines shut down and the 57-meter (187-foot) rocket and its payload, the ALOS-3 land-observing satellite, landed at Tanegashima Spaceport. Left on the launch pad. It is also equipped with an infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missiles.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said it was investigating the apparent cause of the failure.
Japan built H3 to consolidate its own access to space and increase its chances of winning a larger share of the global launch market from rivals, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
It is designed to carry government and commercial satellites into orbit and cargo to the International Space Station. As part of Tokyo’s deepening cooperation with the United States in space, a later variation will also carry cargo to the Gateway Lunar Space Station, which NASA plans to build as part of its program to bring people back to the moon.
The United States has pledged Japan to participate in one of its manned lunar missions.
H3’s builder and launch manager Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 7011.T hopes the rockets will boost its space ambitions as SpaceX shakes up commercial launches with reusable rockets, including the Falcon 9.
According to a September report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the cost of launching a Falcon 9 into low Earth orbit is $2,600 per kilogram. The equivalent price for the H3’s predecessor, the H-II, is $10,500.
“With H3, we aim to halve the cost per launch,” a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries spokesperson said ahead of the planned launch.
A successful first mission would have put a Japanese rocket into space ahead of the launch of the European Space Agency’s new low-cost Ariane rocket scheduled for this year.
