UCHINOURA, Kagoshima Pref. -- In another serious blow to Japan's space program, an M-5 rocket carrying an astronomical observation satellite failed Thursday to reach its expected orbit. The rocket was supposed to reach an orbit of between 270 km and 550 km from Earth after lifting off at 10:30 a.m. from Kagoshima Space Center in Uchinoura, Kagoshima Prefecture, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science said. It had been delayed two days. Analysts said the failure could deal a fatal blow to the space program, as it follows on the heels of a crash of an H-II rocket carrying a 10 billion yen multipurpose satellite owned by the National Space Development Agency of Japan. That mishap, soon after launch, came less than three months ago, on Nov. 15. The recent failures, coupled with the nuclear criticality accident in a uranium processing plant in Ibaraki Prefecture last September, have soiled Japan's veneer as a technological powerhouse. Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki told a news conference in Tokyo that the government will consider reviewing its rocket development system. The rocket failed to reach its assigned speed and put the Astro-E satellite into orbit only 80 km from Earth, according to the ISAS. The institute said that it did not have control of the satellite as of 1 p.m. and that it is likely it fell into the atmosphere and burned up. Scientists at the institute said the failure appears to have been caused by a gas injection nozzle in the lower part of the rocket. The failure was the first involving the M-5, the institute said. Japan has successfully used M-5 rockets in two launches since 1997. The total cost of the launch, including the satellite, was about 18 billion yen, according to the institute. The Astro-E satellite was going to observe X-rays in outer space. The launch, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed to Wednesday because of bad weather. The launch was delayed again on Wednesday just before liftoff when a wiring fault was discovered at a tracking station in Miyazaki Prefecture. The 1.7-ton satellite was the fifth X-ray observation satellite developed by the ISAS, which is part of the Education Ministry. The most recent one to enter orbit was the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics, which was launched in 1993. The telescope of the new satellite was capable of registering X-ray emissions over a wide spectrum of wavelengths, the ISAS said. The satellite was designed to observe gases at temperatures under 100 million degrees in a group of galaxies to learn about the history of the universe, according to the institute. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi was disappointed by the mishap. "Unfortunately, the launch was not a success," Obuchi told reporters at his Official Residence in Tokyo. "We will investigate the cause." Japan's space program has proved to be an expensive undertaking, in part because responsibilities for it are divided among five ministries.
