Tokyo: Japan successfully launched its new H3 flagship rocket on Saturday, putting its space programme back on track after multiple setbacks including the failure of the rocket’s inaugural flight last year.
The H3 left the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan at 9:22 a.m. local time on Saturday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a statement.
The space body said it had confirmed the combustion of the second-stage engine was complete, and the rocket had reached orbit as planned.
JAXA expects the H3 to be able to launch both government and commercial missions in the future and, if it is successful, the space agency has plans to launch it as often as six times a year for the next two decades.
Saturday’s successful launch is a second win for JAXA in as little as two months after its “moon sniper” robotic explorer landed on the lunar surface in January.
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