First launch of Japan’s H3 rocket aborts at T-0
In its first attempt to launch its new H3 rocket today the rocket’s main liquid-fueled engines ignited, but then the two strap-on solid rockets failed to ignite at T-0, causing that main engine to shut down to protect the rocket and payload.
I have embedded the live stream below, cued to about T-39. At the end of the broadcast the rocket appeared in good condition, though it was still unclear what the caused the problem.
At the moment there is no word when JAXA, Japan’s space agency, will attempt another launch. The H3 is years behind schedule, and was developed in the hope it would be more efficient and cost less to launch than the H2A rocket Japan presently uses.
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In its first attempt to launch its new H3 rocket today the rocket’s main liquid-fueled engines ignited, but then the two strap-on solid rockets failed to ignite at T-0, causing that main engine to shut down to protect the rocket and payload.
I have embedded the live stream below, cued to about T-39. At the end of the broadcast the rocket appeared in good condition, though it was still unclear what the caused the problem.
At the moment there is no word when JAXA, Japan’s space agency, will attempt another launch. The H3 is years behind schedule, and was developed in the hope it would be more efficient and cost less to launch than the H2A rocket Japan presently uses.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
How can a solid motor fail to ignite. You shoot a blow torch into the darn fuel and bang
I think “fail to ignite” is more “computer refused to ignite them.” It’s possible they had a wiring issue, but I would think refusal is more likely.
Hang fire!
Probably a fault in the PIC arming/fire sequence.
One of the things you don’t fully test during a WDR.
John Young, Commander of the first Shuttle launch which was the first manned mission to use solid rockets, famously replied when asked about launch abort options: “Once the solids ignite, there are no options…. you are definitely going somewhere!”
Translation from post on twitter and on the NASASpaceFlight forum:
Rollback tonight JST confirmed as needed to resolve the problem. Schedule to retry unclear at this point – can be as short as a few days, can be an issue which takes longer to resolve. Statement was they are aiming to keep the launch inside the Fiscal Year (running until March 31st), but that’s subject to what the problem actually is.
Issue was with the 1st stage, but quite probably not with the LE-9, whose ignitions were nominal and reached up to 90% thrust. Clamp release system was operated at T-18 s, but not an issue to re-engage. The SRBs themselves were not to blame: an ignition command was not sent to them from the flight controller avionics, but the computers are also thought to be operating correctly. Can be a sensor issue though. Similar to H-II’s second flight.
Link sources:
Twitter In Japanese
NASASpaceFlight