Regarding Japan's new flagship rocket "H3", which was scheduled to be launched on the 13th of this month, JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said that a defect was found in part of the system that controls the flight of the rocket. We have clarified the idea of setting the date after the 15th of this month.
"H3" is the successor to the current flagship rocket "H2A," and has been developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at a cost of over 200 billion yen.
The first launch was scheduled to take place at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on the 13th of this month, but JAXA found a problem in part of the system that controls the flight, such as the attitude and direction of the rocket based on wind conditions. announced.
The confirmation work is expected to take several days, and JAXA has announced that it will set a new launch date after the 15th of this month.
With the aim of competing with overseas rocket launch businesses, the H3 is planned to increase the weight it can carry into space by about 1.3 times that of the H2A, while also cutting the launch cost to about half of the current level. I started.
The first launch vehicle will be equipped with the Earth observation satellite "DAICHI-3", which is expected to be used to grasp disaster situations, etc., and attention will be paid to whether it will make a smooth start as a new main domestic rocket.