Fuel Tubing Damage behind Japan H3 Rocket Failure: JAXA

Tokyo, Jan. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japan failed in the launch of an H3 rocket last month due to damage to a section mounting a satellite and to fuel tubing, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said Tuesday. After liftoff, the No. 8 H3 rocket sustained damage to the section where the Michibiki No. 5 positioning satellite was mounted, when the satellite cover, called fairing, was separated. In addition, the fuel tubing of the rocket’s second-stage engine was damaged, presumably causing combustion to stop earlier than planned, JAXA said in a progress report on its investigation into the failure at a meeting of a subgroup of a science ministry panel. As the section was damaged, the satellite was no longer attached to the second stage of the rocket. The satellite fell off when the first stage separated. Camera footage shot from the rocket shows the satellite falling. It is believed to have fallen into the sea off Minamitorishima, a remote Tokyo island in the Pacific, along with the first stage. There have been no reports of damage from this incident. The second-stage engine used liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel. The damaged tubing was for pressurization to supply liquid hydrogen from the fuel tank to the engine. Immediately after the satellite cover separated, an unusual impact was recorded, indicating that the mounting section was damaged, along with the tank pressurization piping directly beneath the section. It presumably became impossible to supply liquid hydrogen properly to the second-stage engine as a result, according to the report. JAXA said it will mainly investigate the cause of the abnormal impact that occurred just after the satellite cover separation. The No. 8 unit blasted off from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Dec. 22 last year. The launch ended in failure as the second-stage engine shut down earlier than scheduled. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]