On Friday, Japan's first new medium-lift rocket, the H3, failed to launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan. The launch was aborted after two secondary booster engines strapped to the side of the rocket failed to ignite. The rocket was carrying a land observation satellite. The H3 rocket had reached the end of its launch countdown, but the main engine cut off before it could take off. A spokesperson for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said that the cause of the failure was an apparent engine glitch. JAXA is currently investigating the incident to determine the exact cause of the failure and to assess the damage. The agency has not yet announced when the launch may be rescheduled. The H3 rocket is the first new medium-lift launcher developed by Japan in three decades. It is designed to launch larger payloads than the H2 series of rockets. The failure of the H3 rocket is a major setback for JAXA, which had hoped to use the rocket to boost Japan's presence in the international space industry.