The Epsilon-6 rocket lifts off from its launch pad at the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshimadu Prefecture, Japan on October 12, 2022. STR / AFP
This hadn’t happened since 2003. When Japan’s space agency JAXA found a problem launching one of its rockets for the first time in almost twenty years on Wednesday, October 12, it sent out a self-destruct order to Epsilon-6. carrying several satellites.
“The missile cannot safely continue its flight because it would be dangerous if it crashed into the ground,” a JAXA official told Japanese broadcaster TBS. “So we took measures to avoid such an incident and we sent out a signal” to destroy it, the manager added, without giving details about the cause of the problem.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers Samples of the asteroid Ryugu reveal their secrets
26 meters high, 95 tons heavy
It was the sixth launch of an Epsilon rocket, a JAXA solid model that began (unmanned) flight in 2013.
JAXA on Wednesday suspended the live online broadcast of the launch of Epsilon-6 from its Uchinoura space center in Kagoshima Prefecture (southwest of Japan) without first issuing a statement.
The 26 meter high and over 95 ton rocket is smaller than Japan’s previous liquid-fueled launcher and was the successor to the earlier solid-fuel launcher “MV”, which was discontinued in 2006 because of high costs.
Also read In Japan, the launch of a satellite for forecasting meteorological disasters