Japan’s New Rocket Fails to Launch after Ignition Problem

According to the national space agency, the next-generation rocket intended for Japan failed to lift off on Friday due to an apparent ignition issue.

The H3 rocket, the replacement for the H-IIA model launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2001, was scheduled to take off from Tanegashima Space Center in southwest Japan in the middle of the morning.

But after successfully igniting the primary liquid engines, "it appears like we failed to ignite the two solid rocket boosters," JAXA spokesman Nobuyoshi Fujimoto told AFP.

The launch, which had already been postponed numerous times before being finally slated to take place on Friday, will be investigated, according to Fujimoto, who also promised to reschedule it.

The H3 rocket was created for higher cost- and reliability-efficiency, as well as for more frequent commercial launches.

The failure is not the only recent launch failure for JAXA.

In October, the organisation was compelled to launch its solid-fuel Epsilon rocket with a self-destruct order. In order to showcase cutting-edge technologies, it was launching satellites into orbit.

Since 2003, Japan's only unsuccessful rocket launch occurred then.