The optimism that initially followed the launch of Japan鈥檚 second H2-A rocket has been rapidly soured by the realisation that it failed to deploy one of two satellites correctly.
The malfunction is another setback for Japan鈥檚 space agency NASDA, which is struggling to rebuild its rocket launching reputation after a succession of failures.
The rocket itself launched flawlessly from Tanegashima Space Centre at 1145 local time on Monday. It deployed one satellite correctly but NASDA lost contact with a $4.8 million probe during its deployment. The craft was a test payload called DASH (Demonstrator of an Atmospheric Re-entry System).
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Mission control said it was unable to determine whether the satellite had been deployed into the correct orbit, but later added that it was assumed to have not done so.
Partial success
However, engineers are calling the launch an overall success and have reaffirmed the agency鈥檚 commitment to 11 more launches.
鈥淲e will study 1500 points of data from this flight, and make improvements for the future,鈥� mission spokesman Shinji Nio told Space.com.
DASH was to orbit the Earth for three days before passing back through the planet鈥檚 atmosphere. A larger probe, MDS-1 was placed into the desired orbit a few hours before. It will test the performance of electrical components such as microchips, batteries and solar cells in space.
The first H2-A rocket launched and deployed its payload successfully in August 2001. But the predecessor to the H2-A, the H2, suffered numerous failures during the 1990s. It was introduced in 1992 but scrapped by NASDA in 1999 after three out of seven H2 launches suffered technical problems.
Unknown cause
Maarten Meerman, principle engineer at Surrey Satellites in the UK, points out that the latest glitch may lie with the satellite itself.
鈥淚t may have had nothing to do with the launcher, but it is going to be hard to figure that out,鈥� he says. 鈥淧utting multiple payloads into space can be a problem. Japan has so few that scientists try to put on as much as possible.鈥�
Japan鈥檚 fishing industry means that Tanegashima Space Centre, which is 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo, can have only two launches each year.
The H2-A rocket can carry a payload of 4.5 tonnes into space. This means it could compete with Europe鈥檚 Ariane class of rockets, as well as the US-built Delta rocket. The next H2-A launch is scheduled for summer 2002.