Just seconds after its initial launch, Japan’s inaugural privately developed rocket Kairos erupted into flames, casting a plume of smoke and fire over the rural landscape.
The solid-fuel Kairos rocket, developed by the Japanese private firm Space One, met with an explosion shortly after its inaugural launch on Wednesday. This 18-meter rocket, lifting off from Space One’s launchpad in Western Japan’s Wakayama region, was carrying a small government test satellite.
The launch took place at 7:31 AM on Monday, but only seconds into the flight, Kairos exploded, creating plumes of smoke and fire. “The launch of the first Kairos rocket was carried out, but we had to take a measure to abort the flight. Details are currently under investigation,” Space One stated, as reported by The Guardian.
The company announced that the flight was terminated after analyzing the flight data. Shuhei Kishimoto, the governor of the local Wakayama government, mentioned that the issue stemmed from the rocket’s autonomous flight-termination system, though he did not detail the specific problem. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported near the launch site, and the fire that ensued was quickly extinguished.
The Tokyo-based startup, established in 2018, was formed by a consortium of Japanese firms, including Canon Electronics and major construction company Shimizu, along with the Development Bank of Japan, a government-owned bank, as reported by Reuters. Additionally, two of Japan’s largest banking institutions, the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and the Mizuho Group, hold stakes in the venture.
Rocket launch failures are not unusual and can occur with any entity in the space industry. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, stands as one of the most successful private space enterprises to date. The company is currently developing the Starship, poised to be the largest and most powerful rocket ever once operational. However, Starship has experienced explosions in its initial test launches, and SpaceX plans to conduct at least one more launch this year.
Space One aims to penetrate the growing market for deploying clusters of small satellites into orbit. The company’s website states, “We will offer the world’s shortest lead time from signing a contract to launch, along with the world’s most frequent launch schedule. By having our own dedicated launcher and launch site, we aim to significantly reduce the costs of satellite deployment, thereby contributing to the expansion of space-related businesses.”