<span style="color: #222222;">Japan on Tuesday was forced to blow up its new rocket during a failed launch, in a setback to the country's efforts to crack a market led by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Its space agency had to send a self-destruct command to the H3 rocket when its second-stage engine failed minutes after lift-off. Observers say it is a significant setback for Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa). The government called the test failure extremely regrettable. The H3 rocket is the first medium-lift rocket designed by Japan in three decades. It has been presented as a cheaper alternative to SpaceX's Falcon 9 for launching commercial and government satellites into Earth's orbit. Tuesday's launch came after an aborted launch in February, when the rocket failed to get off the launch pad due to faulty rocket boosters.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Japan's science minister Keiko Nagaoka said authorities would investigate the cause of the engine failure. She apologised for failing to meet the expectations of the public and related parties.</span><br />