TOKYO, Sept 5 (NNN-NHK) – The postponed lift-off of an H2A rocket, carrying the Japanese space agency’s lunar lander has been set for Thursday, the rocket manufacturer said, yesterday.
The domestically made rocket is scheduled to take off around 8:42 a.m. local time Thursday, from Tanegashima Space Centre, on Tanegashima Island, in the south-western prefecture of Kagoshima, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said.
The move follows a delay of the mission, due to strong winds a week earlier, that was decided around 30 minutes before the planned lift-off.
Designed to test technology for precise landings on the moon, the rocket is to carry the SLIM lunar lander, developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which is expected to enter the Moon’s orbit some three to four months after being launched and attempt to reach the lunar surface in four to six months.
Japan’s attempts at satellite launching and space exploration have been hit by multiple setbacks this year, including the failure of the country’s first attempt to launch the H3 rocket, which will replace the H2A rocket, in March.– NNN-NHK
