The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, has paused the launch program for all existing domestic launch vehicles. The decision follows a string of setbacks in recent months, including the failure of the latest heavy lift vehicle, and a local report from a major Japanese newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, that documented the halt.
As a result, the planned 47th flight of the H2 carrier rocket, scheduled for May, has been rescheduled to the summer at the earliest. Earlier, in October, JAXA also halted operations for the Epsilon family of small to mid-size launch vehicles, citing initialization problems that could not be resolved in a timely manner. The combination of these pauses marks a notable shift in Japan’s space launch cadence after years of steady, incremental progress.
For more than two decades, Japan’s space program boasted a track record of reliability with over 50 consecutive successful launches. That streak, however, appears to have faltered toward the end of last year, raising questions about the current state of the nation’s space infrastructure and the future pace of missions. The pause comes amid broader reflections on how best to balance ambition with robust risk management across the launch portfolio.
March brought the most high-profile setback so far with the failure of the new H3 rocket. The launch proceeded from the ground, but the second-stage engine failed to ignite, triggering the vehicle’s self-destruct sequence in a controlled manner. The H3 was designed to replace the H-2A booster that has supported missions since the early 2000s. The H-2A has earned a reputation for reliability, with a long history of successful flights and a high success rate that has underpinned Japan’s access to space. The current situation with the H3 underscores the careful, incremental approach that the program has historically followed as it seeks to push capabilities forward while managing risk across complex aerospace systems.
Previous reporting indicated a fault in the rocket’s power subsystem that affected the launch sequence. JAXA investigators explained that the root cause involved a power supply issue occurring before or just after the ignition of the second stage. This finding points to the delicate integration of propulsion, electronics, and ground support systems in modern launch vehicles, where a single subsystem can determine the outcome of a mission. The agency’s ongoing analysis will likely influence timelines, testing priorities, and the allocation of resources as engineers work to identify mitigations that can restore confidence in the launch program and support a return to flight as soon as practicable.