A new Japanese space rocket program had an explosive start.
Knewz.com has learned a four-stage rocket blew up five seconds after liftoff on Wednesday, March 13.
The 59-foot-tall spacecraft named Kairos was a project of Space One, which hoped to be the first private company in Japan to put a satellite in space.
The unoccupied rocket seemed to leave the launch pad without a problem. But five seconds after its 11:01 a.m. takeoff, a large explosion occurred from the middle of the aircraft.
It was engulfed in ball of fire and debris flew into the mountains and sea.
An investigation of what went wrong is planned. An initial statement by Space One to Agence France Presse indicated the staff “took a measure to abort the flight.”
But the president of Space One indicated later that the rocket self-destructed.
“The rocket terminated the flight after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult,” Masakazu Toyoda told a news conference.
Toyoda joined other Space One leaders in a customary Japanese bow of apology.
But The South China Morning Post reported Toyoda refused to call the explosion a failure. He said Space One doesn’t use that word.
“Each trial brings us… new data and experience for another challenge,” he explained.
Space One built Kairos so it can sense errors in its control system, flight path or speed. It can blow itself up so it doesn’t crash and injure people on the ground.
Authorities in western Japan report no one was injured. A fire caused by the explosion quickly was put out.
“I didn’t even imagine an outcome like this,” said Katsumasa Tashima, the mayor of nearby Kushimoto.
Kairos carried a Japanese government satellite, designed to be a backup for intelligence satellites. Engadget.com reports that overall focus is on North Korea.
The March 13 launch followed a four-day delay due to a ship trespassing into the rocket’s restricted space off the Kii peninsula.
This was the second explosion involving Japanese space flight in less than a year. An engine intended for Epsilon rockets blew up at a government testing site in July 2023.
SpaceX also has experienced several rocket explosions. One of them covered by Front Page Detectives in September 2023 reportedly included a UFO sighting.
Space One was created in 2018 to meet a growing worldwide interest in satellite launches. Its main competition is Rocket Lab, a United States company that has made more than 40 launches from New Zealand.
Space One’s long-term goal is to launch 20 “space courier services” rockets a year, providing “the world’s shortest lead time… as well as the world’s most frequent launching schedule.”
Japan’s government hopes to make them “greener” launches, by including methane engines which could be more fuel-efficient.
Two more Kairos launches have been booked by clients, but Space One had not scheduled them. The explosion could delay them even longer.
The explosion is a setback for Japanese space dreams overall, after a milestone in January. Knewz.com has covered the landing and activities of the “Smart Lander for Investigating Moon,” or SLIM.
Yet in his moment of what some would call an explosive failure, Toyoda borrowed from the words of famous American inventor Thomas Edison: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
The post Japanese Rocket Explodes 5 Seconds After Launch, But Company Refuses to Call It ‘Failure’ appeared first on Knewz.
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Author: Richard Burkard
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