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.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
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