The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Tuesday said that it had sent a self-destruct signal to a new medium lift rocket it launched the same day after the vehicle’s second stage engine failed to ignite, reported news agency Reuters. The move came as a blow to Japan’s efforts to expand access to space and remain competitive in a launch market roiled by Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The 57-metre (187 ft) tall H3 rocket had lifted off from JAXA's Tanegashima space port, following an aborted launch last month but later said it sent a self-destruct signal to the rocket after the engine failure.
The H3 was carrying a disaster management land observation satellite, ALSO-3 which is equipped with an experimental infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missile launch.
ALSO READ: 'Declaration Of War': North Korea Warns US Against Shooting Down Missile Tests
Following the abortion of the space mission, the shares in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited, H3’s producer, fell 1.8% in morning trade, while the broader Japanese benchmark index (.N225) was up 0.4%.
Powered by a new simpler, lower-cost engine that includes 3D-printed parts, the H3 is designed to lift government and commercial satellites into Earth orbit, the report stated. The rocket was also meant to ferry supplies to the International Space Station.
As part of Japan's deepening cooperation with the United States in space, it will eventually carry cargo to the Gateway lunar space station that NASA plans to build as part of its programme to return people to the moon, including Japanese astronauts.
ALSO READ: Taiwan Says Won't Allow 'Repeated Provocations' From China
The US and Japan signed a space agreement at the NASA headquarters in Washington in January during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s first visit to the US.
The agreement was signed by US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa.