A rocket engine exploded during a test in Japan on Friday (July 14), the latest in a series of failures that have deflated the country’s space ambitions.
Footage showed flames shooting out the side of the test facility in Noshiro city in Akita Prefecture, before the small building was engulfed in flames and the roof blew off. No injuries were reported.
The explosion of the Epsilon S took place about a minute into the test of the second stage engine at a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) testing site, said officials.
JAXA's new medium-lift H-3 rocket was ordered to self-destruct on its debut flight in March, when its second-stage engine did not ignite as planned. That followed the failure of the agency's solid-fuel Epsilon-6 rocket in October.
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