Japanese H3 carrier rocket fails to unload satellite into orbit after engine cuts out

A Japanese H3 rocket carrying the sixth satellite in a seven-orbiter geolocation system failed to deliver its payload into orbit after lift-off on December 22, 2025, the country’s science ministry said. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is investigating the cause of the second-stage engine’s premature cut-off, which occurred shortly after lift-off from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima prefecture.