Japan had to self-destruct the latest H3 rocket as mission fails

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) self-destructed its latest heavy-duty H3 launch vehicle almost immediately after launch. They were forced to do so because they failed to launch the second stage of the rocket, the agency said during a live broadcast of the takeoff.

The decision was made after the agency’s experts had come to the conclusion that the mission could not succeed.

The rocket, 63 meters tall and 5.2 meters in diameter, blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center earlier on Tuesday following an aborted launch on February 17. The rocket was expected to deliver Japan’s ALOS-3 disaster management land observation satellite to orbit.
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