A Japanese space startup’s attempt to launch a rocket carrying satellites into orbit was aborted just minutes after liftoff on Wednesday. It was Tokyo-based Space One’s second attempt to launch a small Kairos rocket, nine months after the company’s first attempt ended in an explosion.
The Kairos No. 2 rocket was launched from a site in the mountainous region of Wakayama in central Japan. The flight lasted about 10 minutes before ending because “achievement of its mission would be difficult”, Space One said.
The cause of the flight failure was not immediately known, but footage circulated on social media showed the 18-metre (59 ft) solid-propellant rocket launching from Spaceport Kii in western Japan at 11:00 a.m. (local time), but soon It was destroyed. As it ascended, its trajectory remained stable.
【Quick News】Small Rocket「カネロッシ2号機」打ちとこなとこ
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↓マロックロキョで】↓https://t.co/zaA5Cpf20b#nhk_video pic.twitter.com/N2z8c5aAD2
– NHK NEWS (@nhk_news) 18 December 2024
The rocket carried at least five small satellites, including a satellite of the Taiwan Space Agency, in a sun-synchronous orbit about 500 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
The company said it was investigating the incident and would hold a press conference at 2:00 pm local time.
Space One hopes to become the first Japanese company to launch a satellite into orbit to boost the lagging space industry in Asia’s second-largest economy. But in March the maiden flight of its Kairos rocket, carrying a Japanese government satellite to monitor North Korea’s missile launches and other military activities, exploded five seconds after launch.
At the time, Space One said that improper flight settings triggered the rocket’s autonomous self-destruct system, even though no problems were found with its hardware. The company said it had determined the cause of the failure of the first flight.
Tokyo-based Space One was founded in 2018 by Canon Electronics, IHI’s aerospace unit, construction firm Shimizu and a state-backed bank, aiming to launch 20 small rockets a year by 2029 to meet growing satellite launch demand. Was. Japan hopes the company can pave the way for a domestic space industry that will compete with the United States.
