Japan’s Second Orbital Launch Test Fails as Kairos Rocket Self-destructs

The Japanese startup’s second attempt to launch its solid-fuel rocket ended in chaos, with Kairos orbiting the ground just minutes after liftoff. The launch failure marks another setback for Japan’s private sector after an explosive rocket test earlier this year.

Japan’s Space One launched its Kairos rocket on Wednesday from the company’s Spaceport Kii in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture. The rocket seemed to fly smoothly at first, but things started to go wrong. About two minutes after taking off, Kairos seemed to lose control, and began to fall to the ground. The rocket self-destructed after detecting errors in the first part of the nozzle and the rocket’s trajectory, Space One director Mamoru Endo told reporters at a press conference after the launch. Reuters.

Kairos was carrying five small satellites from the Taiwan Space Agency, and Japanese companies Lagrapo, Space Cubics, and Terra Space, as well as a fifth customer who wishes to remain anonymous.

This was Space One’s second attempt to become the first Japanese commercial company to put satellites into Earth orbit (Japan’s space agency, JAXA, has done this several times, working with companies like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries). Introduction He first tried to launch Kairos in Marchbut the launch vehicle exploded seconds after taking off from the platform in Wakayama Prefecture. The rocket’s self-destruct system was disabled by a mysterious flight change just five seconds later. Kairos was carrying an experimental satellite for the Japanese government.

The a three-stage Kairos rocketwith solid fuel engines and a liquid fuel booster stage, it was designed to deliver 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of payload to low Earth orbit. With its 59-foot (18-meter) long rocket, Space One hopes to compete with companies like SpaceX and Rocket Lab in delivering satellites into space faster and cheaper. The company aims to launch 30 rockets a year by the 2030s, according to at Kyodo News. Space One will have to wait a little longer to reach that speed, which seems possible with Kairos, Rocket Lab’s Electron-like rocket.

“We don’t see this event as a failure,” Space One President Masakazu Toyoda told reporters after the launch failed, according to AFP. “We believe that our findings … are very important and we think they can be useful for other problems.”

JAXA also wants to compete in the new space age. Despite some of its shortcomings, JAXA he started its new H3 rocket for second test in February. On the other hand, Japan’s Epsilon S rocket, it exploded in a test at the end of November.