By TETSUYA ISHIKURA/ Staff Writer
March 13, 2024 at 12:59 JST
A massive explosion only seconds after liftoff at 11:01 a.m. on March 13 marked the spectacular failure of the first satellite launch by a private company.
Tokyo-based Space One Co. had planned to place a satellite in orbit with the launch from Space Port Kii in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, of its first Kairos rocket.
Space One officials held a news conference later that day and explained the explosion was intentionally triggered by a computer that detected problems with the rocket.
However, they added that further analysis of the data would be needed to determine exactly what those problems were.
The liftoff was rescheduled after one set for March 9 had to be postponed because boats had entered waters that had been designated off-limits for the launch.
No private company has ever launched a satellite into orbit. Space One had planned to have the Kairos rocket reach an altitude of about 500 kilometers about 51 minutes after liftoff and release a satellite of the Cabinet Secretariat.
Space One had wanted to enter the commercial space launch business using its own rocket and launch site.
But it's back to the drawing board for the company to see if it can provide a reliable space-delivery service to customers from around the world.
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The Kairos rocket explodes shortly after launch on March 13. (Kazuhiro Nagashima)
