The Japanese space agency, JAXA, experienced a setback when a rocket being developed by the agency exploded during testing on Friday. Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries. The incident occurred at a facility in Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan, and the cause of the accident is currently under investigation. It remains uncertain when testing for the Epsilon S rocket will be able to resume.
Video footage from the site captured the test beginning as expected, with white smoke emanating from the side. However, approximately a minute later, an explosion occurred, engulfing the area in flames and gray smoke. The force of the blast even caused the roof of a building to be blown off.
The failure poses a challenge to JAXA’s aspirations to establish a strong presence in the small satellite launch market, which is projected to expand in the future. While an Epsilon S demonstration launch had been planned for this fiscal year, a previous launch attempt in May had already encountered difficulties. Furthermore, JAXA’s earlier H3 rocket launch also faced a failure in March. However, it’s worth noting that a previous version of the Epsilon rocket has successfully sent multiple satellites into orbit.
Despite this setback, JAXA will likely regroup and continue working towards their goals, learning from these experiences to improve their future endeavours in the space industry.