Japanese space startup Kairos aborts 2nd satellite launch minutes after liftoff

Japanese space startup Space One's rocket launch aborted, destroyed itself, aiming to boost Japan's space industry.

A Japanese space startup said its second attempt to launch a rocket carrying satellites into orbit had been aborted minutes after liftoff Wednesday (December 18, 2024) and destroyed itself again, nine months after the company's first launch attempt ended in an explosion.

Space One's Kairos No. 2 rocket lifted off from a coastal site in the mountainous prefecture of Wakayama in central Japan.

The company said it had aborted the flight after concluding that it was unlikely to complete its mission.

“We are very sorry that we could not achieve as far as a final stage of the mission,” Space One President Masakazu Toyoda told a news conference Wednesday (December 18, 2024). “We don't consider this a failure because we are getting valuable data that will help our pursuit toward a next challenge.”

He said he hoped to find the cause to address the problems as soon as possible to achieve a success next time.

Company executive and space engineer Mamoru Endo said the abnormality in the first stage engine nozzle or its control system is likely to have caused an unstable flight of the rocket, which started spiraling in midflight and eventually destroyed itself about three minutes after liftoff, using its autonomous safety mechanism.

The rocket, which rose higher than 100 kilometers (60 miles) above ground, entered space entered space before it was destroyed, officials said.