Japan's H3 rocket reaches planned trajectory after failed debut last year

A new Japanese flagship H3 rocket lifted off from a space station in southwestern Japan on Saturday, successfully reaching a planned trajectory and releasing one of the two payloads in a key second test flight a year after its failed debut launch. The H3 rocket blasted off from a launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center on time Saturday morning, two days after its originally scheduled lift-off which was delayed due to bad weather. The rocket's initial flight has been smooth as planned and it successfully released the first of two small payloads, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said. JAXA will have a news conference later in the day to provide further details. Officials are confirming the status of a second satellite. The launch is closely watched as a test for Japan's space development after H3 failed in its debut flight last March. JAXA and its main contractor Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been developing H3 as a successor to its current mainstay, H-2A, which