Japan’s Space One Kairos rocket explodes on inaugural flight

A Japanese company’s goal to be the first in the country to put a satellite in orbit and offer “space courier services” ended in spectacular fashion when its solid-fuelled rocket exploded shortly after launch on Wednesday.

Kairos carried an experimental government satellite that can temporarily replace intelligence satellites in orbit if they fall offline. Space One wants to offer “space courier services” to domestic and international clients, aiming to launch 20 rockets a year by the late 2020s, its president Masakazu Toyoda said. Although the company delayed Kairos’ inaugural launch window four times, it said orders for its second and third planned trips have been filled, including by an overseas customer.It does not disclose Kairos’ launch costs, but company executive Kozo Abe said it was “competitive enough” against American rival Rocket Lab.

Before that, however, JAXA had faced a series of setbacks. H3’s inaugural flight failed last year, as did another flight of a smaller rocket, Epsilon, in 2022. In July 2023, an upgraded engine for Epsilon exploded at JAXA’s testing site.In 2019, Interstellar Technologies conducted Japan’s first privately developed rocket launch with its MOMO series, although without a full-scale satellite payload.

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