Japanese Private Rocket ‘Kairos’ Explodes After Liftoff

A Japanese privately developed rocket, named ‘Kairos’, exploded shortly after liftoff from a spaceport in western Japan on Wednesday, as reported by Kyodo News. The incident, captured on a live stream video, showed the rocket’s remains falling onto a nearby mountainous area and into the sea, with fragments lying on the ground as fire hoses attempted to extinguish a large fire.

Tokyo-based startup ‘Space One’ failed in its attempt to become Japan’s first private firm to put a satellite into orbit when its 18-meter-long solid-fuel Kairos rocket exploded, according to The Japan Times. Following the explosion, local firefighters were dispatched to the scene, and fortunately, there have been no reports of casualties so far.

The company had implemented “flight termination measures,” and the launch was initially scheduled for Saturday but was delayed due to the presence of a ship in a designated safety zone in the ocean. The satellite onboard the rocket was intended to perform some functions of an existing government satellite in monitoring military facilities in North Korea, as stated by the Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center.

Established in 2018, Space One aims to commercialize space delivery services by lowering costs and offering high-frequency rocket launches. The startup, backed by Canon Electronics Inc., IHI Aerospace Co., Shimizu Corp., and the Development Bank of Japan, plans to send 30 rockets into space annually by the 2030s.

Space One’s first rocket launch was initially planned for 2021 but faced five postponements due to delays in parts procurement amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In 2019, Interstellar Technologies from Hokkaido sent Japan’s first privately developed rocket into space, although it did not carry a satellite payload.

Last month, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched its next-generation H3 rocket, bolstering the nation’s satellite-launching and space exploration ambitions after the failure of its first model nearly a year ago, according to The Japan Times. Globally, the number of successful satellite launches has increased tenfold over the past decade, reaching a record of 2,368 in 2022, as reported by the Cabinet Office.