The H-3 rocket was billed as a future pillar of Japan’s space business that would help to cement the nation’s footing in the international competition for space exploration.

But now, it could take years for such lofty expectations to return.

The first attempt to launch the H-3, on Feb. 17, fizzled before takeoff because of an abnormality in the main engine.

The next attempt, on March 7, failed in more spectacular fashion. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency forced the rocket to self-destruct shortly after launch.

“Our biggest challenge is to determine the cause of the failure and restore trust as soon as possible,” Hiroshi Yamakawa, the JAXA president, said at a news conference later in the day. “We would like to take measures leading up to a second H-3 launch and beyond after analyzing what happened from a technical point of view.”

The failure came after a two-year delay from the initial schedule.

JAXA said the launch on March 7 at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture was going as planned for around the first five minutes. The rocket’s first-stage main engine stopped firing and its second stage successfully separated.

But the second-stage engine failed to ignite.

With the rocket continuing to fly, JAXA sent the self-destruction signal 13 minutes and 55 seconds after liftoff. It assessed that the H-3 would be unable to put the Earth-observation satellite Daichi-3 into its scheduled orbit.

The satellite was also lost in the failure.

The H-3’s second-stage engine, with a longer burn time, was seen as an improvement from the engine of the H-2A, currently regarded as Japan’s flagship rocket.

The H-3’s control equipment is supposed to send an ignition signal to the second-stage engine. JAXA is investigating whether the equipment failed to send the signal or if it was sent but could not reach the engine.

“We believe that (space) development should not end in failure,” Masashi Okada, director general of H-3 project team, said at a news conference. “We would like to think about how we can have a successful launch as early as possible, while proceeding with what we can do now.”

A second H-3 rocket has already undergone a burn test and was scheduled to launch within fiscal 2023.

Shinya Matsuura, a science and technology journalist, said, “Failure of the second-stage engine is rare. The problem could be the ignition mechanism, control system or electrical system rather than the second-stage engine itself.”

“To minimize the impact, the launch and development of H-3 and other rockets must not be stopped,” he said.

HURDLES TO INVESTIGATION

The failure came as a shock for the government.

The science and technology ministry, which had insisted that the first launch on Feb. 17 was “aborted,” not “failed,” decided to set up a task force one hour after the failure on March 7.

“We take this failure very seriously,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference. “The science and technology ministry and JAXA are working together to immediately determine the cause and take necessary measures.”

The H-3 rocket is a prerequisite not only for the expansion of Japan’s space business but also for its entire space policy.

According to the Basic Plan on Space Policy compiled by the government at the end of 2022, the first H-3 rocket will be successfully launched within the fiscal year that ends this month.

After conducting one test launch in fiscal 2023, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which co-developed the H-3 rocket, will shift to practical operations from fiscal 2024, according to the policy.

The H-3 rocket has been tapped for JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) and sending resupplies to the International Space Station on the new HTV-X cargo spacecraft.

In addition, H-3 is expected to deliver supplies in the U.S.-led Artemis lunar exploration program.

However, determining the cause of the failed launch will be difficult because the rocket self-destructed, and there are no plans to retrieve its parts from the seabed.

“If (the failure) is attributed to complicated technical problems, it could take years before the next launch,” Yasunori Matogawa, professor emeritus of JAXA, said. “That would affect the future of MMX and delay (H-3’s) entry into the Artemis program.”

(This article was written by Shoko Tamaki, Mutsumi Mitobe, Hisatoshi Kabata, Ryoko Takeishi and Fumi Yada.)