TOKYO—A commercial rocket attempting to launch a satellite into orbit was purposefully detonated shortly after liftoff Wednesday morning in central Japan, resulting in an ongoing investigation.
Space One aimed to be Japan's first private sector success in launching a satellite into orbit.
The Kairos rocket was shown on film shooting off in a hilly region surrounded by forests before exploding five seconds later. A massive column of smoke blanketed the region, and flames sprang out in several places. Spurts of water were seen attempting to extinguish the fire.
Live footage from national broadcaster NHK showed debris spreading from the sky, followed by burnt bits strewn about on the ground.
According to the Kushimoto city fire department in Wakayama prefecture, no casualties were recorded and the fire was brought under control.
The launch was delayed five seconds after liftoff, but the issue spotted by the rocket's automatic system remained unclear and is still being investigated, according to Space One.
It happened during the second phase of the launch, after liftoff, and all of the rocket parts landed on Space One's property, according to the business.
“We are taking what happened in a positive way and remain prepared to take up the next challenge,” President Masakazu Toyoda told reporters.
The rocket was scheduled to put a government-built satellite into orbit above Earth to collect different data, including monitoring potential threats from rocket launches from neighboring North Korea.
However, one of its primary goals was to allow Japan to catch up with the United States and China in terms of rocket launch numbers. The launch has been postponed multiple times.
Mr. Toyoda and other authorities emphasized that space exploration only succeeds after several failures. He even hesitated to term the failed launch a failure, refusing to identify the expenses or when the probe would be finished.
Space One, headquartered in Tokyo, was founded in 2018 with financing from significant Japanese corporations such as Canon Electronics, IHI, Shimizu, and major banks. It hopes to someday provide space services and travel.
Japan's primary space exploration endeavor has been directed by the government through JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, which has created numerous rockets, launched a spacecraft to the moon, and returned asteroid samples for research.
Japan's firms want to be a bigger part of the developing global space economy, as illustrated by enterprises like Elon Musk's Space X.
