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A Japanese official said a rocket engine exploded during a test on Friday, in the latest blow to the Japanese space agency.
the Epsilon S – An improved version of Epsilon missile The one that failed to launch in October exploded “about 50 seconds after ignition,” Naoya Takegami, an official at the Ministry of Science and Technology, told AFP.
Footage taken by national broadcaster NHK showed the test site in the northern province of Akita.
“We have not yet received any reports of casualties” from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which was investigating the cause of the explosion, Takigami said.
The malfunction comes after Tokyo in March saw its second launch attempt of its next-generation H3 rocket fail after liftoff, and after the failed launch of its Epsilon solid-fuel engine in October.
It was Japan’s first failed launch in nearly two decades, and the only one of an Epsilon rocket, a model that has flown five successful missions since its first launch in 2013.
In both incidents, JAXA had to send orders to self-destruct the missiles.
The Epsilon is smaller than the country’s previous liquid-fueled model and the successor to the “M-5” solid-fuel missile that was discontinued in 2006 due to its higher cost.
JAXA said in May that the reason for the failure of the launch in October was a defect in the pipes carrying the fuel.
Japan plans to launch an Epsilon S rocket next year.
The country’s space program is one of the largest in the world, and in October, JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata flew to the International Space Station as part of the Crew-5 mission.
the Epsilon S – An improved version of Epsilon missile The one that failed to launch in October exploded “about 50 seconds after ignition,” Naoya Takegami, an official at the Ministry of Science and Technology, told AFP.
Footage taken by national broadcaster NHK showed the test site in the northern province of Akita.
“We have not yet received any reports of casualties” from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which was investigating the cause of the explosion, Takigami said.
The malfunction comes after Tokyo in March saw its second launch attempt of its next-generation H3 rocket fail after liftoff, and after the failed launch of its Epsilon solid-fuel engine in October.
It was Japan’s first failed launch in nearly two decades, and the only one of an Epsilon rocket, a model that has flown five successful missions since its first launch in 2013.
In both incidents, JAXA had to send orders to self-destruct the missiles.
The Epsilon is smaller than the country’s previous liquid-fueled model and the successor to the “M-5” solid-fuel missile that was discontinued in 2006 due to its higher cost.
JAXA said in May that the reason for the failure of the launch in October was a defect in the pipes carrying the fuel.
Japan plans to launch an Epsilon S rocket next year.
The country’s space program is one of the largest in the world, and in October, JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata flew to the International Space Station as part of the Crew-5 mission.
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