Satellite Space Mission Aborted in Japan’s First Failed Rocket Launch in Years
The Epsilon-6 rocket launches from Uchinoura Space Center on Oct. 12.
Source: AFP/Getty Images
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Tokyo (AP) -- Japan's space agency said a rocket carrying eight satellites failed just after liftoff Wednesday and had to be aborted by a self-destruction command, in the country’s first failed rocket launch in nearly 20 years.
The Epsilon-6 rocket was not in the right position to orbit around the Earth and its flight had to be aborted less than seven minutes after takeoff from the Uchinoura Space Center in the southern Japanese prefecture of Kagoshima, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency President Hiroshi Yamakawa told an online news conference.