Posted: Fri, Oct 21, 2022, 7:47 PM ET (2347 GMT)
A Japanese Epsilon small launch vehicle failed to reach orbit during a launch Oct. 11 night. The rocket lifted off on schedule at 8:50 pm EDT (0050 GMT Oct. 12) from the Uchinoura Space Center carrying the RAISE-3 technology demonstration smallsat and several secondary payloads. However, the rocket appeared to malfunction after the second stage of the rocket shut down, and the Japanese space agency JAXA later said it sent a command to destroy the rocket. The cause of the failure was not immediately disclosed. The failure was the first for the Epsilon rocket in six launches dating back to 2013.

Related Links:

•  Kyodo News article
•  Asahi Shimbun article
•  Jjii Press article
•  NHK article
•  Reuters article