Japan suspends its flagship launch vehicle to the moon 27 minutes before lift-off

Grounded indefinitely: An H2A rocket sits at the launch pad at Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima, Japan. — AP

TOKYO: Japan’s space agency suspended a planned launch of a rocket carrying what would be the country’s first spacecraft to land on the moon, with operator Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) citing high winds.

Although the H-IIA rocket, the Japanese flagship launch vehicle, has a 98% launch success rate, unsuitable wind conditions in the upper atmosphere forced a suspension 27 minutes before the planned liftoff yesterday.