It's unlikely that the first Epsilon S rocket will be able to launch by March next year as planned, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said Thursday.

Holding a news 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" for the small satellite launch vehicle to lift off by the end of the current fiscal year. Okada is leading the agency's investigation into the repeated accidents during Epsilon's development.

The latest blast occurred 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 about 49 seconds into 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 rear of the booster 0.3 seconds before the blast. There was no indication of melted igniter parts, which caused the first accident in July 2023.

"We will thoroughly look into the blast, taking into account every possibility," Imoto said.

Quelle: The Japan Times