Japan’s space agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), had to delay the launch of an H-IIA rocket that was scheduled to carry a moon lander into space. The launch was called off due to unfavorable wind conditions in the upper atmosphere, according to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), the company responsible for the launch. The announcement of the cancellation was made on X, previously known as Twitter, 24 minutes prior to the planned launch time.
The specific rocket involved, H-IIA No. 47, was supposed to take off from JAXA’s Tanegashima Space Center located in southern Japan, at 9:26 a.m. local time (0026 GMT) on Monday. JAXA announced that further information would be provided by MHI during its YouTube livestream.
Onboard the rocket are two essential payloads. The first is JAXA’s lunar landing spacecraft, known as the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM). The second payload is an X-ray imaging satellite. Both of these missions will have to wait for a future launch opportunity.
Reported by Kantaro Komiya and Rocky Swift, the news article was edited by Kim Coghill and Gerry Doyle.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
