Japan won’t give up: New-generation rocket tries again

After a failed launch attempt in February, Japan's space agency has set a new launch window for the H3 rocket on March 6.

Masashi Okada, project manager of the rocket development team, said that the weather at the Tanegashima space base will determine whether the launch will take place as scheduled.

It is reported that the Japanese space agency had planned to launch the H3 rocket booster for the first time in the afternoon of February 17, but a malfunction led to the termination of the launch procedure. The Japanese side stressed that this time was not considered a failure, although some media disagreed.

As for the cause of the last failure, Japan said it was an abnormality in the power supply system of the first stage engine, which was found by the self-test of the first stage control system. Fortunately, the main body of the rocket, including the 3-ton payload (ALOS-3 observation satellite), was not damaged.

According to information, H3 is a new generation of Japanese solid rocket, which is more cost-effective and is expected to replace H2A as Japan's main launch vehicle in the future.

Prior to the latest H3 test launch, Japan had only conducted one orbital launch mission this year, using the H2A to successfully send a radar satellite into space on January 15.