The first launch of the H-IIA rocket, originally scheduled for early next year, will be delayed at least until May or June because of Monday's failure of the No. 8 H-II rocket launch, officials of the National Space Development Agency of Japan said Wednesday.

It is the first sign that Monday's failure of the Japanese-made rocket, which carried a multipurpose satellite, is casting a shadow over the nation's attempt to enter the global market for satellite launches.

The H-IIA is the cheaper successor to the H-II, and is being developed as Japan's first commercial rocket.

Through the private-sector consortium Rocket System Corp., NASDA has already signed contracts with U.S. and European firms to launch a total of 20 satellites. The first H-IIA was to be launched by next February.

But since the H-IIA is based on the technology used for the H-II, NASDA needs to examine whether the cause of Monday's launch failure will affect the H-IIA as well, the officials said.

NASDA chief Isao Uchida unveiled the plan when he attended the Wednesday morning session of the Liberal Democratic Party's Special Committee on Space Development, the officials said. Uchida was reporting on Monday's accident to the LDP panel.

The delay of the H-IIA project may prompt the overseas firms to review the satellite-launch contracts with NASDA and also make it difficult for the agency to win further contracts, industry sources said.

Cracked fuel cylinder likely caused engine failure> A cracked fuel cylinder or combustion chamber probably caused the failure of the main engine during Monday's attempted launch of an H-II rocket, the National Space Development Agency of Japan said Tuesday.

Data taken during the launch of the two-stage No. 8 H-II rocket indicate the broken part halted a turbopump feeding fuel to the first-stage engine, dubbed LE-7, NASDA officials said.

The engine stopped operating about four minutes after its 4:29 p.m. liftoff from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The cylinder in question contains pressurized liquid hydrogen.

Ruling out the rocket's on-board guidance equipment, fuel valves and power source, officials said the problem probably lies with the engine's mechanism.

This assessment was drawn after an examination of the engine combustion and pressure level in the fuel cylinders revealed the temperature around the engine rose suddenly when it quit.

It was backed up by evidence that the engine quickly stopped burning fuel and also by video footage from the ground that showed the rocket spewing white gas, the officials said.

When the engine stopped, the rocket lost forward thrust and went into a flat spin as liquid hydrogen leaked from fissures in the side, they said.

The rocket also failed to accelerate in the direction of its assigned flight path even after the first stage separated from the second, and eventually lost control.

According to the agency, a small hydrogen leak was detected near a fuel valve in August 1998 during a test of the LE-7. But a later test failed to detect any leakage, and no measures were taken to modify the engine.