Japan Aborts Launch of Newest Rocket Seconds Before Takeoff

Japan's space agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), was forced Tuesday to abort the launch of its newest unmanned rocket, the Epsilon Launch Vehicle, 19 seconds prior to takeoff.

The launch was designed to place the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) space telescope into orbit around the Earth.

According to a JAXA statement, the last-minute change in plans occurred when an automatic stop alarm was issued after an "attitude abnormality" was detected.

"JAXA is currently investigating the cause," the statement explained.

Tuesday's snag marks the second delay for the launch, which was originally scheduled for Aug. 22 but was postponed due to concerns with the rocket's ground support equipment, according to Space.com.

Epsilon represents a major step in reusable and increasingly cost effective rocket technology, according to Yasuhiro Morita, Epsilon Launch Vehicle's project manager. As one of its major accomplishments, Morita points to a significant reduction in the time it takes to prepare the rocket for launch: in all, it takes just seven days from erecting the first stage at the launch site to completing post-launch operations, compared to 42 days for Japan's previous generation of launch vehicles.

Going forward, the space agency hopes to cut this down to just three days, at which point, Morita said, "we can say that the Epsilon literally is a launch vehicle that can go to space and meet your needs whenever you need it."

SPRINT-A, meanwhile, is designed to be the world's first space telescope to remotely monitor the solar system's planets from an orbit around the Earth. Among its foremost scientific objectives is that of studying the evolution of the atmospheres found on neighboring planets and more closely observing Jupiter's moon Io.

In terms of how the latest delay will impact Japan's ability in gaining access to the international satellite launch industry, Jefferies and Co. securities analyst Yukihiro Kumagai said it is not yet clear.

"This was the first flight and it was already postponed once and now will be postponed again," he told Reuters. "Inevitably, this will raise some questions, but overall it is unlikely to have much influence."