<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">A Japanese rocket engine exploded during a test on Friday, an official said, in the latest blow to the country's space agency.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The Epsilon S -- an improved version of the Epsilon rocket that failed to launch in October -- blew up "roughly 50 seconds after ignition", science and technology ministry official Naoya Takegami told AFP.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The testing site in the northern prefecture of Akita was engulfed in flames and a huge plume of grey smoke rose into the sky, footage from national broadcaster NHK showed.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"So far we have received no reports of injuries" from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which was investigating the cause of the explosion, Takegami said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The malfunction comes after Tokyo in March saw its second attempt to launch its next-generation H3 rocket fail after liftoff, and after the failed launch of the solid-fuel Epsilon in October.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">That was Japan's first failed launch in nearly two decades, and the only one for an Epsilon rocket, a model that has flown five successful missions since its 2013 debut. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>