The engine for a flagship new small Japanese rocket has burst into flames during a combustion test, but there was no injury or damage to the outside, officials said.

We’re always told that rocket science is the hardest form of science out there and a raft of explosions on the launch pad in recent months makes me inclined to agree. Now, a Japanese rocket engine test has ended in disaster after the engines of a new smaller spacecraft exploded during a combustion test in southwest Japan.

Japan's space agency has halted an engine combustion test of its Epsilon S rocket, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, after a fire broke out at the test site, 16 months after another failed engine test derailed Japan's small rocket development.