TOKYO: A rocket made by a Japanese company exploded seconds after launch on Wednesday, in a spectacular failure for the startup’s bid to put a satellite into orbit.

Tokyo-based Space One’s 18-metre (60-foot) Kairos rocket blasted off in the coastal Wakayama region of western Japan, carrying a small government test satellite.

But around five seconds later, the solid-fuel rocket erupted in fire, sending white smoke billowing around the remote mountainous area as orange flames raged on the ground, live footage showed. Space One said it had taken the decision to “abort the flight” and details were being investigated.

“We want to accept this outcome in a forward-looking manner and embark on our next challenge,” company president Masakazu Toyoda told reporters, asserting that Space One does not use the term “failure”.

The firm wishes to “contribute to the expansion of space-related ser­v­­i­ces” through successful satellite launches by its rockets in the future, he added.

Burning debris fell onto the surrounding slopes as sprinklers began spraying water, in dramatic scenes watched by hundreds of spectators gathered at public viewing areas including a nearby waterfront. Private companies like Space One are playing an increasingly important role in space exploration worldwide.

Last month a Houston-based company landed America’s first spaceship on the Moon in more than 50 years, and rockets made by Elon Musk’s SpaceX have come to be heavily relied upon by Nasa.

But failures are rife, and last year another Japanese start-up, ispace, tried in vain to become the first private company to land on the Moon. The company said it had lost communication with its craft in what it described as a “hard landing”.

Space One is hoping to become Japan’s first private firm to put a satellite into orbit.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2024