TOKYO: The inaugural launch of Japan’s next-generation rocket was aborted shortly after takeoff as launch controllers ordered it to self-destruct and plunge into the ocean, dealing a blow to the country’s aspirations to take on Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) decided to scrap the mission after the H3 rocket’s second-stage engine failed to ignite, the agency said on Tuesday.
