JAXA on October 1 suspends the launch of its fifth Epsilon rocket some 19 seconds before the scheduled liftoff. (Screen shot) The rocket is carrying nine small satellites, includingVietnam’s NanoDragon.
According to JAXA, a glitch occurred at ground radarequipment that monitors the Epsilon-5's position and speed, located near therocket's launching pad. It might cause a problem in tracking the Epsilon-5, theagency said.
JAXA urgently called off the launch from its Uchinoura SpaceCenter in the town of Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan,after it had started counting down to the liftoff time of 9:51 am on October 1(local time).
JAXA said that there were no problems with the Epsilon-5itself or the nine small satellites of universities and private companies thatthe rocket is carrying.
A new launch date has yet to be decided.
The NanoDragon, a nano-layer cubesat satellite which weighs3.8 kilograms, was developed by the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC) underthe Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology.
The satellite was delivered to Japan and tested at theUchinoura Space Centre in Kagoshima prefecture in August before beingofficially transferred to the JAXA for launching under the second"Innovative satellite technology demonstration" programme./.
VNA
