Japan aborts mini-rocket mission shortly after liftoff

The world's smallest rocket SS-520 carrying a mini satellite for observation of the Earth's surface is launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on January 15, 2017. - AFP

Tokyo (AFP) - Japan’s space agency Sunday aborted a mission to use a mini-rocket to send a satellite into orbit after the spacecraft stopped sending data to ground control shortly after liftoff.

The SS-520 rocket, which stands around the size of a power pole, lifted off at 8:33 am (2333 GMT) into a clear sky at the Uchinoura Space Centre in southern Kagoshima Prefecture.