JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) clarified the progress of the investigation into the cause of the failure of the launch of Japan's small rocket "Epsilon" No. 6, and found that the second stage attitude control device of the rocket did not work properly As such, he expressed his intention to hurry to identify the cause.
JAXA Project Manager Takayuki Imoto attended an expert meeting held by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on the 18th, and announced the analysis results of the flight data of Epsilon-6, which failed to launch.
In this, project manager Imoto said that the direction of the rocket deviated from the target by about 20 degrees before the second and third stages were separated, and that the "second stage gas jet device" that controls the attitude of the second stage was sufficient. reported that it did not work.
There are two systems of the device, and it plays the role of controlling the attitude of the rocket while ejecting gas from eight injection ports. I explained that there is
In addition, it is said that the factors were narrowed down to ▽ the valve of the pipe through which the fuel, which is the source of the gas, did not open sufficiently, ▽ the pipe itself was clogged, and ▽ the abnormality occurred after the switch that opened the valve was activated. By doing so, we will quickly identify the cause by checking the data at the time of manufacturing and inspection.