Regarding the second launch of Japan's new flagship rocket "H3", which is scheduled to be launched in the second half of this fiscal year, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced on March 2 that it will change its plan in response to the failure of the first rocket in March this year and launch it without carrying an Earth observation satellite under development.
This was explained at the Space Development and Utilization Subcommittee meeting of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) on the 24th.
The first launch of Japan's new flagship rocket "H3" was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on March 3, but the launch failed because the second stage engine did not ignite, and the Earth observation satellite "ALOS-7" was lost.
At the meeting on the 2th, JAXA = Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency explained the investigation of the cause of the failure and explained that "the risk of loss will be very large considering the policy impact and the impact on related fields" regarding ALOS-3, which is under development to be installed on H24 No. 3, which is scheduled to be launched in the second half of this fiscal year.
On top of that, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) changed the initial plan and indicated that it would not install ALOS-2, but would launch it with measuring equipment and other equipment to confirm the performance of launching satellites into orbit.
Regarding this, the committee members expressed positive opinions, such as "It is better to launch safely even if the one- and two-year plan is delayed" and "There is no objection to the direction."
A representative from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said, "We would like to do everything possible to resume the launch as soon as possible by making possible preparations in parallel with the work to investigate the cause."