H2A rocket launched with 1 minute delay just before launch Caused by Kagoshima Prefectural Police helicopter entering restricted area[02/02 19:12]
The launch of the H2A rocket at the Tanegashima Space Center on the 26th of last month was delayed by one minute because a helicopter entered the restricted area just before the launch, but it was a Kagoshima Prefectural Police helicopter that entered. I understand.
H2A rocket No. 46 was scheduled to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center at 10:49 am on the 26th of last month, but a helicopter entered the restricted area around the launch site about 10 minutes before that.
For this reason, measures were taken to delay the launch by one minute, and H2A was launched at 10:50 am.
At the time, I didn’t know where the helicopter belonged, but I later found out that it was a prefectural police helicopter.
According to the Prefectural Police and Security Division, when they checked the flight path of a helicopter that was flying around the launch site for security purposes at the time, they were on alert for about five minutes from around 10:39 a.m., 10 minutes before the scheduled launch time. It means that you are entering the area.
The restricted area was centered on the east side of the launch site, with an area of about 20 kilometers in each direction, east and west, and north and south, but the helicopter crew was unaware of the approach.
The prefectural police said, “We will provide thorough guidance to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”