Tokyo-based startup Space One failed Wednesday 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.
The 18-meter, 23-ton Kairos rocket, carrying a mock-up of a government spy satellite, took off from a new space facility in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, shortly after 11 a.m.
The rocket exploded in midair five seconds after launch, with its remains falling onto a nearby mountainous area. 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 put out eventually, and nobody was hurt, Wakayama Gov. Shuhei Kishimoto told reporters a couple of hours after the explosion.