Japan: Major fire at a rocket launch test site

Monday 25th November 2024 09:29 PM

Japan –

Major fire at a rocket launch test site

A major fire broke out during a Japanese space agency test of a solid fuel Epsilon S rocket on Tuesday in Japan.

Published today at 02:51

Officials from the Japanese Space Agency have not yet communicated about this fire. (Pretext image)

AFP

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A major fire broke out on Tuesday at a site of the Japanese space agency while it was testing a solid-fuel Epsilon S rocket, according to images from public television channel NHK.

No injuries were reported following the incident in the remote Kagoshima prefecture in southern Japan. Fireballs and white smoke rose around 8:30 a.m. local time (12:30 a.m. Swiss time) from the Tanegashima space center, according to these images.

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Contacted by AFP, officials from the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) could not immediately be reached. According to NHK, the fire occurred during a test burn, attended by media stationed about 600 meters away.

About 30 seconds into the test, a loud explosion was heard, and what appeared to be a burning object flew toward the sea, NHK reported. The “Sankei” newspaper reported that orange flames burst from the rocket engine placed on a horizontal platform before the explosion.

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