Japan space agency delays H3 rocket flight due to technical issues

Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said on Friday that it was delaying the maiden flight of its H3 Launch Vehicle rocket, citing a technical problem identified with the new first-stage engine now under development.

JAXA said in a statement it would delay the first test flight from the current fiscal year that ends on March 31, to fiscal 2021, and the second test flight by a year to fiscal 2022.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd is a prime contractor for the rocket.

(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)