TOKYO: Japan said it had destroyed a new medium-lift rocket it launched toward space on Tuesday after the vehicle’s second-stage engine failed to ignite. The 57-meter (187 ft) tall H3 rocket lifted off from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Tanegashima space port, following an aborted launch last month. It was carrying the ALOS-3, a disaster management land observation satellite that is also equipped with an experimental infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missile launches.