Japan's Space One Rocket Explodes Shortly After Launch

Tokyo-based startup Space One failed to become Japan's first private firm to put a satellite into orbit after its solid-fuel Kairos rocket burst into flames just seconds after liftoff in a major setback for Japan’s space development aspirations, Tomoko Otake reported for Kyodo News on Japan Times.

The 18-meter, 23-ton Kairos rocket, carrying a mock-up of a government spy satellite, attempted to take off from a new space facility in Kushimoto. I Photo: Space one

The 18-meter, 23-ton Kairos rocket, carrying a mock-up of a government spy satellite, attempted to take off from a new space facility in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, shortly after 11 a.m.

The rocket exploded in midair shortly after launch, with its remains falling onto a nearby mountainous area and into the sea, Japan Times also reported.

Live news footage of the event showed fragments of the rocket lying on the ground, as firefighters attempted to extinguish a large fire. The fire was eventually put out, and nobody was hurt, Wakayama Gov. Shuhei Kishimoto told reporters a couple of hours after the explosion.

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