Kamikazi space shuttle cruising over Sweden

[Taro Toporific]

Crash landing ends Japanese shuttle test flight
Wed. Jul. 2 2003 1:18 PM ET
Associated Press
TOKYO -- Japan's delta-wing space shuttle approached the speed of sound while cruising over Sweden, but tumbled into a field moments later -- a crash landing that was the latest setback for Japan's space program.
Full size JPEG here.

[Crispy]

Oh, so no one was killed. I was wondering why so many news sites were making kamikaze jokes about this...

[Captain Japan]

"From a scientific perspective, it was a success because we collected the data we were looking for," space agency spokesman Hiroaki Sato said Wednesday. "But because of the landing, we are unsure if we can continue the test flights."

I think the above quote is pretty funny. That landing'll getcha each time...

But the Japanese space shuttle is supposed to eventually really land on Christmas Island in the Pacific. You can get a picture of the air strip here:

http://www.bigempire.com/sake/christsci.html

Captain