Japan Delays Liftoff, Blames U.S. ‘Chips’

Japan has postponed a rocket launch after discovering that U.S.-made semiconductors in the electronic circuitry are defective, an official said today.

Mikihisa Hagihara, a spokesman for Japan’s National Space Development Agency, said flaws in special integrated circuits made by National Semiconductor of the United States have forced postponement of the Feb. 1 launch of an H1 rocket.

A check of spare integrated circuits of the same type showed that about 10% had similar flaws, Hagihara said. He said the agency decided to obtain replacements from the U.S. company.