JAXA's Epsilon-6 rocket launch ends with self-destruct signal

The Epsilon-6 rocket takes off from Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 9:50 a.m. Wednesday. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said it transmitted a self-destruct signal to the Epsilon-6 solid-fuel rocket soon after it was launched on Wednesday morning from Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.

JAXA sent the signal 6-1/2 minutes after the rocket was launched at 9:50 a.m. The rocket appears to have fallen into the sea to the east of the Philippines.