Technical Glitches Delay New Japanese Rocket Launch

ROCKET SCIENCE

Can production improvements help Japan crack the international launch market for commercial payloads

Tokyo (AFP) August 22, 2001
Japan on Wednesday postponed the launch of its new H-2A rocket, scheduled for this weekend, after discovering problems with a valve in the rocket, a government agency said.

"We now expect the launch as early as August 28," said Sawa Komazawa, spokeswoman at the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan.

But she added the date could be delayed further, depending on progress in fixing the problem valve.

"We hope to fix the date formally as soon as possible," Komazawa said.

The H-2A rocket, a potential rival to Europe's Arianespace Ariane V, was due to lift off from Tanegashima island, about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) southwest of Tokyo, on Saturday.

But six days before the launch, NASDA discovered a valve used for adjusting oxygen flow failed to function properly.

NASDA has also blamed the massive Typhoon Pabuk, which has battered wide areas of Japan in the last 24 hours, for the delay.

"The typhoon reduced our time for nailing down the cause for the problem, leading to the delay this time," said agency spokesman Yoichi Fujita.

NASDA needed to send the valve back to Komaki, in central Japan, where its manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. has a plant for space products.

But the flight, which could have been as early as Monday morning, only took place Tuesday afternoon due to the stormy weather, Fujita said.

Japan hopes the improved and less costly version of its H-2 rocket will establish its presence in the commercial satellite launch market dominated by the United States and Europe.

But Japan's space programme has suffered numerous setbacks.

The launch was postponed for more than a year at the end of 1999 after two consecutive failures with the H-2 in February 1998 and November 1999, which, coming on top of the loss of a satellite, threw the Japanese space industry into turmoil.

Created in 1969, the year US astronaut Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon, NASDA used American know-how to develop its H-1 rocket and tried to catch up with the H-2 rocket.

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ROCKET SCIENCE

Japan Re-enters Rocket Race With Improved H2A GEO Booster

Tokyo - August 20, 2001
Japan's National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) will this weekend attempt to launch its first improved H2A launch vehicle from its main launch pad located on the southern island of Tanegashima. Launch is currently scheduled for 1pm JST (16:00 GMT) Saturday August 25. The launch window is a generous five hours which gives nervous space officials much needed time to correct any last minute problems.

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