Japan space agency rocket engine explodes during test (updated)

Ispace

14/07/2023 01:55

(Adds ispace moon crash in last paragraph)
       TOKYO, July 14 (Reuters) - A rocket engine exploded
during a test in Japan on Friday but there were no injuries, an
official at Japan's Education, Science and Technology Ministry
said. 
    The explosion of the Epsilon S engine at the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA) testing site is the latest in a series
of failures that have deflated Japan's space ambitions.
    The explosion took place about a minute into the test of the
second stage engine, the official said. 
    Television footage showed flames shooting out the side of a
testing facility before the small building was engulfed in
flames and the roof blew off. 
    JAXA's new medium-lift H-3 rocket was ordered to
self-destruct on its debut flight in March, when its
second-stage engine did not ignite as planned. That followed the
failure of the agency's solid-fuel Epsilon-6 rocket in October.
    Lunar transport startup ispace  9348.T  saw its Hakuto-R
vehicle crash into the moon's surface in April in an attempt at
the first ever soft-landing by a private company.   

 (Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama and Mariko Katsumura; Writing by
Elaine Lies; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Tom Hogue)
 ((Satoshi.Sugiyama@thomsonreuters.com;))