Japan’s H3 rocket fails after liftoff, destruct command issued

Japan’s next-generation H3 rocket failed after liftoff on Tuesday, with the space agency issuing a destruct command after concluding the mission could not succeed.

The failure is a blow for Japan’s space agency JAXA, after the rocket failed to even lift off on its first try last month. 

The decision was made after the agency’s experts had come to the conclusion that the mission could not succeed.

The rocket, 63 meters tall and 5.2 meters in diameter, blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center earlier on Tuesday following an aborted launch on February 17. The rocket was expected to deliver Japan’s ALOS-3 disaster management land observation satellite to orbit.