WORLD : Japan Delays Lunar Blastoff
Only 18 seconds before liftoff, space officials today postponed a rocket launch that would have made Japan the third country to send a spacecraft around the moon.
Officials said the flight was canceled after a problem arose in the hydraulic control system used to move the nozzle of a booster rocket.
“I don’t think it is a serious problem,” mission chief Hiroki Matsuo said. “If things go well, there is still a chance of a launch tomorrow.”
The mission received little advance publicity in Japan, and today’s countdown was not shown live on television.
Dozens of reporters had gathered on a dark hillside several miles from the oceanside launch site to watch the liftoff.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
