TOKYO, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Japan's space agency said it had sent a self-destruct command to the new flagship H3 rocket as it launched toward space on Tuesday after the vehicle's second-stage engine failed to ignite.
According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the 57-meter rocket blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center launch site in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Tuesday morning as scheduled, but was ordered to self-destruct minutes later because the second-stage engine failed to ignite.
The launch failure came after several delays including one aborted launch attempt last month.
The H3 rocket, Japan's successor to the H2A rocket, its previous mainstay launch vehicle, was carrying a land observation satellite designed to assist in disaster management situations. ■
