An engine for Japan’s Epsilon S rocket exploded during testing on Friday, the latest in a series of setbacks for the nation’s space aspirations.
(Bloomberg) — An engine for Japan’s Epsilon S rocket exploded during testing on Friday, the latest in a series of setbacks for the nation’s space aspirations.
The engine was being tested at a facility in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture from 9 a.m. when it had a combustion issue about 57 seconds into the trial, a spokesperson for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. Footage aired by public broadcaster NHK showed a waterfront building being engulfed in flames and a tall plume of smoke rising from it.
There were reports the explosion was heard from several kilometers away, NHK said. No injuries have been reported so far, the government’s top spokesman, Hirokazu Matsuno, said in a regular press briefing.
Shares of IHI Corp., whose aerospace subsidiary developed the Epsilon S, were down 1.8% at the end of the morning trading session., compared with a 0.1% decline in the Topix index.
The incident comes after JAXA was forced to order its next-generation H3 rocket to self-destruct shortly after takeoff in March when the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.-built spacecraft’s second-stage engine failed to ignite. An Epsilon-6 launch launch last October was similarly aborted, while Ispace Inc.’s failed moon lander mission in April sent the Tokyo-based startup’s shares plunging.
–With assistance from Yuki Hagiwara.
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