Japan delays supersonic jet test flight

Japan’s space agency will postpone the test flight of a Japanese supersonic jet by one day due to bad weather.

The prototype SST, or Supersonic Transport, was to be launched on a rocket from Australia’s Woomera test range on Friday.

Because of bad weather in the region, however, the new launch date is now set for Saturday morning, said Tatsuo Oshima, a spokesman for JAXA, Japan’s space agency.

The jet will be released at an altitude of about 12 miles and will reach the speed of Mach 2 – twice the speed of sound – and collect information about its aerodynamics. The 38-foot-long craft, developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, will then descend back to Earth by parachute after the 15-minute flight.

“Everything else is ready, except the local weather,” Oshima said. “We hope the weather improves so we don’t have to postpone again.” A test in July 2002 ended in failure.