Launch of 1st Epsilon Rocket by March Unlikely: JAXA

   Tokyo, Dec. 5 (Jiji Press)--It seems difficult to launch the first Epsilon S rocket by March next year as planned, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Thursday.
   Holding a press conference in the wake of the second explosion during ground combustion tests for the second-stage solid-fuel booster, JAXA Vice President Masashi Okada said he thinks it "technically difficult to a large degree" to lift off the small satellite launch vehicle by the end of the current fiscal year. Okada leads the agency's investigation into the repeated accidents during the Epsilon development.
   The latest blast occured during a combustion test at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on Nov. 26.
   According to Okada and Epsilon project manager Takayuki Imoto, the second-stage motor exploded in about 49 seconds in the test, initially scheduled to last two minutes, due to an abnormal rise in combustion pressure that started some 20 seconds after the ignition.
   After analyzing temperature and pressure data and examining scattered parts, the agency found that high-temperature combustion gas leaked from the booster's rear 0.3 second before the blast. Meanwhile, it did not detect melting of igniter parts, which caused the first accident in July 2023.

(2024/12/05-23:02)

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