According to the Jiji news agency, citing the Ministry of Education and Science of Japan, an explosion occurred during testing at a test site in Japan of an Epsilon-C solid-propellant rocket.
The agency notes that the explosion occurred during tests of the engine of the second stage of a small rocket at a test site in Akita Prefecture.
According to the agency, the accident occurred on Friday morning, about a minute after the start of the test, which was overseen by the Japan Aerospace Agency (JAXA).
There were no reports of injuries. The causes and circumstances of the accident are being investigated.
The first launch of the Epsilon rocket took place in 2013, the second – at the end of 2016, the third launch – in January 2018, the fourth – in January 2019, and the fifth – in November 2021. But the Epsilon launch -6″ The rocket ended in failure – communication with it was lost, which prompted the Japanese space agency to send a signal from Earth to destroy the rocket.
Japan plans to use these small rockets for commercial purposes, including to launch satellites from developing countries that do not have large funds for this.
Source: News