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Japan reschedules second launch of flagship H3 rocket to Saturday NHK

Japan's space agency has rescheduled the second launch of its new flagship H3 rocket to Saturday after postponing it due to expected bad weather.

The H3 was initially scheduled to take off from the Tanegashima Space Center in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima at 9:22 a.m. on Thursday. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, announced the change of plans on Tuesday.

JAXA said on Wednesday that after studying weather conditions, it pushed back the launch 2 days, to 9:22 a.m. on Saturday.

The H3 was developed as the successor to the current mainstay rocket H2A. The first launch of the H3 in March 2023 ended in failure after its second-stage engine did not ignite.

JAXA has been studying the reasons for the failure based on flight data, and implemented measures including stricter inspection of rocket parts.

The H3 is the first large rocket developed by Japan in 30 years. International competition over space business has been fueled by the entrance of private-sector companies. The result of the upcoming second launch could influence the future of the country's space development.
Summary
Japan's JAXA rescheduled the second launch of its new H3 rocket from Tanegashima Space Center to Saturday due to weather concerns. The H3, developed as a successor to the H2A and first launched in March 2023 with failure, is being relaunched after investigations and stricter inspections of rocket
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ID: 73a91dd9-d490-4d81-b780-8697ab422102

Category ID: nhk

URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240214_33/

Date: Feb. 14, 2024

Created: 2024/02/15 06:30

Updated: 2025/12/08 17:41

Last Read: 2024/02/15 22:08