Science

JAXA Resets H3 Rocket Launch for Mon.

The Yomiuri Shimbun
JAXA’s first H3 rocket is seen at Tanegashima Space Center in Minami-Tane, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Feb. 17.

Jiji Press

17:19 JST, March 3, 2023

TOKYO — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said Friday that it will launch the country’s first H3 rocket on Monday morning, after canceling the earlier launch attempt last month.

The rocket, carrying the Advanced Land Observation Satellite-3, or Daichi-3, is now scheduled to lift off from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture between 10:37 and 10:44 a.m.

The H3’s maiden launch was originally set for Feb. 17. But it was canceled after the rocket’s solid boosters failed to ignite despite the main engines in the first stage properly igniting six seconds before the liftoff as planned.

In its investigation, JAXA found that an anomaly had been detected in the system to supply electricity to the first-stage engines. The control system did not send an ignition signal to the solid boosters, which then cut off the main engines, according to the government-affiliated space agency.