unsaveSave
expand-left
full screen The Japanese-made Kairos rocket exploded seconds after launch on Wednesday. Photo: Kyodo News/AP/TT
A Japanese-made space shuttle exploded shortly after it was launched on Wednesday. The failure is a severe blow to the country’s attempts to enter the satellite market.
The 18-meter-long Kairos rocket was launched in the coastal region of Wakayama in western Japan on Wednesday, carrying a small government test satellite. But just about five seconds later, it was in flames and white smoke billowed around the mountain area, live broadcasts showed.
“The launch of the first Kairos rocket was completed, but we took action to abort the flight,” the Japanese aerospace company Space One wrote in a statement.
Details of the incident are being investigated.
Flaming rubble tumbled from the rocket and sprinkler systems began spraying water before the eyes of hundreds of onlookers.
Space One has ambitions to become the country’s first private company to launch a satellite into Earth orbit. The idea was that the Kairos rocket would reach its intended altitude around 51 minutes after launch.