KUSHIMOTO: Japanese startup Space One Co. failed in the second launch of its satellite-carrying Kairos small rocket on Wednesday, following the failed first launch in March this year.

The rocket’s flight was aborted a few minutes after it was launched from the Tokyo-based space startup’s Spaceport Kii liftoff site in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, in the morning.

The launch, if successful, would have been the first purely private project in Japan to put a satellite into orbit.

The No. 2 unit of the Kairos rocket, with three solid-fuel stages and liquid fuel engines, was originally scheduled to lift off on Saturday, but was postponed to Sunday and then Wednesday, due to strong winds.

The 18-meter, 23-ton unit was loaded with five small satellites, including one entrusted by Terra Space Inc., based in the city of Kyotanabe in the western prefecture of Kyoto, and equipped with a Buddha statue to pray for world peace.

The Kairos No. 1 unit exploded shortly after its launch on March 13, as its autonomous flight safety system was activated due to weaker-than-expected rocket thrust.

Space One revised the flight safety system for the No. 2 unit, but its flight was terminated after it was determined that the unit was unlikely to complete its mission.

Space One was established in 2018 with investments from Canon Electronics Inc., IHI Aerospace Co. and others. It aims to launch 30 rockets annually in the 2030s to carry small satellites into space.

JIJI Press