Japan orders satellite-carrying rocket to self-destruct after failed launch

A Japanese rocket attempting to launch a satellite into space self-destructed after it failed to reach trajectory after liftoff on Wednesday.

The Epsilon-6 rocket took off from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday. The rocket, though, deviated from its intended trajectory shortly after leaving the launching pad.

Officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ordered the rocket to self-destruct. It was the first time the space agency had to issue a self-destruct command for one of its rockets since November 2003 when the launch of a satellite-carrying H2A rocket was aborted after one of its two boosters failed to separate.

Wednesday's rocket was carrying eight satellites, including two for commercial use that were developed by a Japanese venture company. It marked the first time an Epsilon series rocket attempted to carry commercial satellites into space.

Other satellites the rocket carried included one that would have conducted a technology demonstration to expand communication capabilities between satellites and its ground network and another that was created with a metal 3-D printer by Waseda University.

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