Japan to attempt next-generation rocket launch again on March 6
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The H3 failed to launch on Feb 17 after a main engine malfunction stopped an ignition signal from reaching its side booster.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO - Japan will make a second attempt to launch its new flagship rocket on March 6.
Mr Masashi Okada, project manager of the H3 rocket’s development team, said on Friday that weather at the Tanegashima Space Centre in south-western Japan will ultimately decide whether the launch goes ahead in the morning as planned.
The H3, a 63-metre-tall rocket designed and created by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries over the course of a decade, failed to launch on Feb 17 after a main engine malfunction stopped an ignition signal from reaching its side booster. Mr Okada said an investigation into the precise cause of the malfunction had been conducted.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) is racing to claim its slice of the growing global space market as investor Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, continues to develop next-generation rockets that can be landed remotely and reused.
“We certainly hope the launch is successful this time,” Mr Okada said.
Separately, Jaxa earlier this week tapped a 28-year-old surgeon and a 46-year-old banker to become its first new astronauts in more than a decade as the country takes a giant leap toward its ambitions to reach the moon. BLOOMBERG
