A rocket engine exploded during a test in Japan on Friday but there were no injuries, an official at Japan's Education, Science and Technology Ministry said.
The explosion of the Epsilon S engine at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) testing site is the latest in a series of failures that have deflated Japan's space ambitions.
The explosion took place about a minute into the test of the second stage engine, the official said.
Television footage showed flames shooting out the side of a testing facility before the small building was engulfed in flames and the roof blew off.
JAXA's new medium-lift H-3 rocket was ordered to self-destruct on its debut flight in March, when its second-stage engine did not ignite as planned. That followed the failure of the agency's solid-fuel Epsilon-6 rocket in October.
Lunar transport startup ispace (9348.T) saw its Hakuto-R vehicle crash into the moon's surface in April in an attempt at the first ever soft-landing by a private company.
(Edited by : Keshav Singh Chundawat)
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
Lok Sabha Election 2024: What rural Delhi wants
May 16, 2024 10:10 PM
Over 50 onion farmers detained in Nashik ahead of PM Modi's visit
May 16, 2024 11:14 AM
Why Google CEO is cautiously optimistic about the election year
May 16, 2024 9:51 AM
Mark Mobius reveals how markets will react if NDA wins 400+ Lok Sabha seats
May 15, 2024 8:09 PM