However, a rocket failure prevented it from reaching its intended orbit.

It included data on rocket failures, guidance systems, telemetry and aerodynamics.

But the risk of rocket failure was considered too high, potentially bringing the radioactivity raining back into the earth's atmosphere.

The satellite had been stranded in space for more than two years after a rocket failure put it in a useless orbit.

Previous news stories have compared similar small rocket failures to major disasters, including the Challenger tragedy.

Manufacturing glitches and rocket failures have made it more difficult and costly to get satellites into the sky.

Both sides were saved by a Russian rocket failure, which gave the Russians the excuse everyone was hoping for.

Japanese, which had invested $4.14 billion in the program since 1986, is still investigating the cause of the rocket failure.

Space experts are scratching their heads over a paralyzing series of rocket failures that have disrupted both military and civilian launches.

This is the most serious launching crisis since the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger and other rocket failures in the 1980's.