Japan suspends launch of H-IIA rocket for a trip to the moon due to strong winds

TOKYO, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Japan’s space agency on Monday suspended the planned launch of a rocket carrying what would be the country’s first spacecraft to land on the moon, with operator Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). (7011.T) citing strong winds.

Although the H-IIA rocket, the flagship Japanese launch, has a 98% success rate, unsuitable wind conditions in the upper atmosphere forced a suspension less than 30 minutes before the scheduled liftoff.

“High altitude winds affected our limitation for a launch… which had been set to ensure there was no impact from falling debris outside of previously warned areas,” MHI launch unit chief Tatsuru said. Tokunaga.

The new launch date has not been decided, but it will not be before Thursday due to necessary processes such as refueling, he added. MHI and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have said the launch could take place on September 15.

The rocket was to be launched from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan on Monday morning; It had already been postponed twice since last week due to bad weather. It will be the 47th release of the H-IIA that Japan has released.

The rocket carries JAXA’s Intelligent Moon Research Lander (SLIM), which would be the first Japanese spacecraft to land on the Moon. Tokyo-based startup ispace (9348.T) Land Hakuto-R Mission 1 it crashed on the lunar surface in April.

JAXA planned to start landing SLIM from lunar orbit in January-February 2024 after Monday’s launch, with the goal of following the success of India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar exploration mission this month.

The rocket also carries a satellite of the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a joint project of JAXA, NASA and the European Space Agency.

The H-IIA, jointly developed by JAXA and MHI, has been Japan’s flagship space launch vehicle, with 45 successful launches out of 46 attempts since 2001. However, after JAXA’s new H3 medium-lift rocket failed On its debut in March, the agency postponed the release of H-IIA No. 47 for several months to investigate the cause.

Despite its goal to send astronauts to the lunar surface in the late 2020s, Japan’s space missions have faced recent setbacks, with the launch failure of the small Epsilon rocket in October 2022, followed by an engine burst during a test last month.

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