Japan to make 2nd launch attempt of new H3 rocket today after delay. How to watch it live.

Japan's new H3 rocket will soon get a second chance to fly for the first time.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) tried to debut the H3 on Feb. 16, but that attempt was aborted when the vehicle's two solid rocket boosters failed to ignite as planned.

An investigation soon revealed the cause of the anomaly — a problem with the electrical system that supplies power to the H3's core-stage engines — and worked to get the rocket ready for another liftoff attempt. 

That attempt will now take place on Monday (March 6) from Tanegashima Space Center, if all goes according to plan, JAXA announced on Saturday (March 4). JAXA had been targeting Sunday (March 5) for the liftoff but pushed it by one day due to weather.

Launch is scheduled to take place during a roughly 6.5-minute window that opens at 8:37 p.m. EST (0137 GMT on March 7). You can watch the liftoff live here at Space.com, courtesy of JAXA.

Related: The history of rockets

Japan's new H3 rocket on the launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center.  (Image credit: JAXA)

Japan has big plans for the H3, which JAXA and its partner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been developing for the past decade. The H3 is designed to be flexible and cost-effective, JAXA has said, and will soon replace the nation's workhorse H-IIA rocket.

Though this first mission is a test flight, the H3 will be carrying an operational payload — a 3-ton Earth-observing spacecraft called the Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS-3, or Daichi-3).

The H3 will deliver ALOS-3 to low Earth orbit, if all goes according to plan. The sharp-eyed satellite will then study our planet in detail for a variety of applications.

"ALOS-3 aims to become one of the key tools for disaster managements and countermeasures of the central and local governments," JAXA officials wrote in an ALOS-3 mission description.

"The observed data from ALOS-3 is expected to lead to progress in the various fields due to its unique imaging capabilities; it will make a significant contribution to upgrading global geospatial information and research and application for monitoring of the coastal/vegetation environment," they added.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 6:20 p.m. EST on March 4 with news of the new target date of March 6.

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

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Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.