A fire broke out at the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan on Tuesday ( Nov. 26 ), prompting Japan’s space agency to halt an engine combustion test of its Epsilon S rocket.
A blaze broke out immediately after the floor combustion test was conducted, according to footage from NHK’s public broadcaster. An explosion was also audible.
No harm has been reported, NHK said citing regional police and fire departments.
According to the spokesperson, the situation at the site is being looked into by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ( JAXA ).
NHK reported that the fire occurred during a 600-meter-away media station’s flame check that started at 8:30 am.
About 30 seconds later, a massive explosion was heard, and what appeared to be someone on fire flew toward the lake, it reported.
Prior to the blast, the jet engine, which was installed on a horizontal system, burst out of orange flames, according to the Sankei Shimbun.
No injuries were reported in the distant Kagoshima region of southern Japan during the event.
Epsilon S, a next-generation design of the world’s solid-fuel little rocket series Epsilon, is being developed in a partnership with JAXA and IHI Corp’s jet division.
Stocks in IHI were lower as much as 6 per cent in Tuesday’s Tokyo buying.
Months of investigation resulted in delays in Japan’s national space missions and satellite start plans due to a previous website check failure on the Epsilon S jet in July 2023 and a release failure on the seventh Epsilon jet in 2022.
If Tuesday’s website test was successful, Epsilon S would have had a debut journey by the end of the current fiscal time that ends in March.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries ‘ larger premier rocket H3, which JAXA’s, even failed at its first launch next year, but it has since succeeded in three successful flights this year, launching Chinese satellites and winning orders from French satellite manufacturer Eutelsat.
In light of the fall of American business launch companies like SpaceX and smaller jet manufacturer Rocket Lab, H3 and Epsilon S have been JAXA’s plans to develop cost-competitive missiles on its own.