A major fire erupted Tuesday at a Japan space agency site as it tested a solid-fuel Epsilon S rocket, television footage showed.

An engine being developed for use in the Epsilon S small rocket went up in flames Tuesday during a combustion test at a facility in southwestern Japan, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The fire at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture follows another incident in July 2023 when the same engine exploded during a test at

Japan's space agency is monitoring a fire that broke out during an engine combustion test of its Epsilon S rocket under development at the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, public broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday.