Japan: New failure during the launch of a private rocket

A start-up aiming to become the first private Japanese company to put a satellite into orbit announced Wednesday that an attempt to launch its Kairos rocket had been aborted shortly after takeoff, after an initial failure last March.

“Kairos was launched (…) but we aborted the rocket’s flight after determining that accomplishing its mission would be difficult,” Space One said in a brief statement, adding that it was seeking to establish the exact circumstances.

No explosion

Television images showed the thin white rocket lifting off from the Space One launch site at the far end of the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama Prefecture (west), a mountainous and forested area. She could then be seen spiraling down into the distance after sending the self-destruct signal.

No spectacular explosion was filmed by television cameras, unlike the first launch attempt last March, during which the rocket burned up in mid-flight a few seconds after takeoff.

The solid-fuel rocket carried five satellites, including one from Taiwan’s space agency and others designed by Japanese students and companies. This mission aimed to revive Japan’s ambition to play a greater role in the global space launch services market.

Imiter SpaceX

Private companies offer cheaper and more frequent space exploration opportunities than government programs, and Space One hopes to emulate Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has contracts with NASA and the Pentagon.

Space One was founded in 2018 by a consortium of Japanese companies including Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace and the Shimizu construction group, as well as the Development Bank of Japan, a state-led financial institution.

The start-up had already had to postpone its inaugural mission five times, having notably experienced difficulties in supplying components, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Probe to the Moon

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) also aims to become a major player in satellite launches. But the Jaxa’s new generation H3 launch system also experienced setbacks before a successful takeoff in February.

And in December, Jaxa announced it was delaying its launch program for its Epsilon S compact solid-fuel rocket following a major fire during an engine test.

However, at the beginning of the year, Japan placed an unmanned probe on the Moon, becoming only the fifth country to achieve such a feat.

“Latest news”

Want to stay on top of the news? “24 Heures” offers you two appointments per day, directly in your email box. So you don’t miss anything that’s happening in your Canton, in Switzerland or around the world.

Other newsletters

Log in

AFP

Did you find an error? Please report it to us.

0 comments