Japan’s Space Rocket Explodes Moments After Takeoff

The start-up’s attempt to launch a satellite into orbit was spectacularly unsuccessful on Wednesday when a rocket manufactured by a Japanese company exploded seconds after takeoff.

A tiny government test satellite was carried by Space One’s 18-meter Kairos rocket, which took off from Tokyo and landed in the western Japanese area of Wakayama. However, live footage indicated that the solid-fuel rocket burst into flames around five seconds later, sending white smoke billowing around the isolated mountainous terrain while orange flames burned on the ground.

Space One announced that it had decided to “abort the flight” and that further information was being looked into.

“We want to accept this outcome in a forward-looking manner and embark on our next challenge,” company president Masakazu Toyoda told reporters, asserting that Space One does not use the term “failure”.

In the future, he said, the company hopes to “contribute to the expansion of space-related services” by launching satellites successfully using its rockets.

Hundreds of people gathered at public viewing spots, including a nearby coastline, and witnessed dramatic sights when sprinklers started spraying water and burning debris dropped onto the surrounding slopes.

Global space exploration is seeing a growing role from private enterprises such as Space One.

NASA now mostly relies on rockets manufactured by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and last month a Houston-based business made history by landing America’s first spaceship on the Moon in over 50 years.

However, there are many failures; just a year ago, ispace, a Japanese start-up, made an unsuccessful attempt to be the first private corporation to set foot on the moon.

The company reported that it had experienced a “hard landing” and had lost contact with its craft.

“It was unimaginable”

Space One aims to become the first private company in Japan to launch a satellite into orbit.

Kairos, which means “the right moment” in ancient Greek, was supposed to happen 51 minutes after takeoff on Wednesday morning. Due to component shortages and other issues, the launch has apparently already been postponed five times, with the most recent delay occurring on Saturday.

The mayor of Kushimoto, the Wakayama district home to Spaceport Kii, the launch location for Space One, expressed his astonishment and dismay.

Shortly after the explosion, Katsumasa Tashima told reporters, “I didn’t even imagine an outcome like this.”

That followed Japan’s successful landing in January of an unmanned probe on the Moon — albeit at a wonky angle — making it just the fifth country to achieve a “soft landing” on the lunar surface.

The 15,000 people who live there “will continue to support Space One,” he declared. “We want to continue to offer our help so that the first rocket will have a successful launch.”

A group of significant Japanese tech companies, including Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace, Shimizu Construction, and the government-owned Development Bank of Japan, founded Space One in 2018.

As a result of the setback, investors sold off their shares, and Canon Electronics ended the day down 7.45%.

Another solid-fuel Japanese rocket engine, the Epsilon S, detonated during testing in July of last year, just 50 seconds after it was ignited.

That was only one of the nation’s space agency JAXA’s many setbacks, which also included unsuccessful efforts to launch its next-generation H3 rocket.

Finally, this month, JAXA was able to successfully launch the H3, its new flagship rocket that has been suggested as a competitor to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Another solid-fuel Japanese rocket engine, the Epsilon S, detonated during testing in July of last year, just 50 seconds after it was ignited.

That was only one of the nation’s space agency JAXA’s many setbacks, which also included unsuccessful efforts to launch its next-generation H3 rocket.

Finally, this month, JAXA was able to successfully launch the H3, its new flagship rocket that has been suggested as a competitor to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.