Japan startup's third rocket launch attempt fails

A Japanese startup company Space One said on Thursday it aborted the launch of its No.3 Kairos space rocket just after takeoff.

They aimed to become Japan’s first private company to put a satellite into orbit. Space One posted on social media X that they determined that mission success was difficult and implemented flight termination measures. Space One also said in the X post that details of what happened were under investigation.

The rocket was carrying several satellites including one for a high school in Tokyo, according to the firm. Its first ended in spectacular failure in March 2024 when the solid-fuel rocket exploded seconds after lift-off. A second try started off better only for the rocket to suddenly spiral downwards because of a technical problem.