An official reported that a Japanese rocket engine exploded during a test on Friday, dealing the nation’s space agency yet another setback.
According to Naoya Takegami of the science and technology ministry, the Epsilon S, an upgraded version of the Epsilon rocket that failed to launch in October, blew up “roughly 50 seconds after ignition.”
Footage from the national station NHK showed the testing site in the northern prefecture of Akita engulfed in flames and a massive plume of grey smoke rising into the sky.
“So far we have received no reports of injuries” from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which was investigating the cause of the explosion, Takegami said.
The problem follows the failure of the solid-fuel Epsilon launch in October and Tokyo’s second failed launch attempt of the next-generation H3 rocket in March.
That was the lone unsuccessful launch for an Epsilon rocket, a design that has performed five successful missions since its introduction in 2013. It was Japan’s first unsuccessful launch in almost two decades.
Both times, JAXA was compelled to instruct the rockets to self-destruct.
The Epsilon is a replacement for the solid-fuel “M-5” rocket, which was phased out in 2006 due to its high cost and is smaller than the nation’s prior liquid-fueled variant.
In May, JAXA reported that a flaw in the fuel-transporting pipes was to blame for the unsuccessful launch in October.
The Epsilon S rocket will be launched by Japan the following year.
One of the largest space programs in the world is run by this nation, and in October JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata completed a Crew-5 mission that took him to the International Space Station.
