The latest Epsilon rocket launch from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) had to be terminated early due to a course deviation mid-flight.
A solid-fuel Epsilon Launch Vehicle is used to send up research satellites into orbit. PC Mag reported that the Epsilon-6 rocket launched on Wednesday, Oct. 12, from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture was carrying eight satellites weighing 110 kg. The satellites are RAISE-3, QPS-SAR 3, QPS-SAR 4, MAGNARO, MITSUBA, KOSEN-2, WASEDA-SAT-ZERO, and FSI-SAT.
The launch was supposed to take place on Oct. 7, Friday, but it was pushed back as there were some issues with the location of the positioning satellite. These issues could have made it impossible to track the location and status of the rocket.
Issues With the Attitude Control System
An error was detected on Wednesday during the transition between the second and third stages. According to the statement by JAXA, the team detected that the vehicle's flight attitude was diverging from the target and decided that it would be unable to approach the Earth's orbit according to plan.
Based on The Japan News, JAXA decided to transmit the self-destruct signal approximately 6.5 minutes after the rocket was released into space at 9:50 in the morning.
The rocket appeared to have fallen into the ocean. Somehow, there was little risk that any debris would fall on land and harm any people or property.
Investigating the Detailed Cause of Error
The exploration agency has expressed its deepest regret to those people and local organizations associated with the payload satellites. It is said that all of them had great hopes for the project.
The deviation that occurred during the separation will be investigated by a "special task force" that has been established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, which oversees the agency. JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa will be in charge of leading this group.
Background: The Epsilon Rocket and the Satellites
The Epsilon was co-created by the JAXA and the IHI Aerospace Co. The whole length of the rocket system is 26 meters, and its total weight is 96 tons. This was the first unsuccessful Epsilon launch since the model debuted in 2013.
Along with the H2A, Japan's flagship rocket is the Epsilon. In November 2003, JAXA experienced its last launch failure with a workhorse rocket, the H2A-6.
According to JAXA via a report posted by the Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun, two of the eight destroyed satellites were the first-time such commercial satellites were transported into space.
The commercial satellites were built by a startup company based in Fukuoka city. Regardless of the temperature or the time of day, they were created with the capability of using radar to monitor the surface of the planet.
Other satellites included one that was going to undertake a technical demonstration to increase communication capabilities between satellites and the ground network. The another was manufactured by Waseda University using a three-dimensional metal printer.
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Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
