Japan’s science and technology ministry said the launch of an H3 rocket on December 22 ended up failing as it could not place a global positioning satellite into orbit.

The eighth H3 rocket lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture in the morning.

The vehicle was carrying a Quasi-Zenith Satellite System called Michibiki Number 5, known as Japan’s GPS satellite.

But as it could not place the satellite into its planned orbit, the ministry determined the launch had failed and set up a task force to investigate what went wrong.

The latest H3 rocket was originally scheduled for launch on December 7, but the event was postponed for equipment checks.

A rescheduled launch on December 17 was halted about 17 seconds before liftoff due to an abnormality in the ground system that supplies cooling water.

When it was finally launched on December 22, the second-stage engine is said to have shut down prematurely 27 minutes after liftoff.