Japan’s first private solid-fuelled rocket exploded shortly after launch

Tokyo-based firm Space One's hopes of being the first local company to carry a satellite into orbit were dashed when a small Japanese rocket burst shortly after launch.  

Moments after takeoff on Tuesday at 11:01 a.m. (02:01 GMT), the 18-meter (60-foot), four-stage solid-fuel rocket known as Kairos burst into fragments, covering broadcast screens with images of flames and towering clouds of smoke. Sprinklers started spraying water as burning debris was observed falling into the nearby mountain slopes. 

After taking off from the rugged Kii Peninsula in western Japan, Space One said that the flight had "interrupted" and that it was looking into what had happened.  

There was no immediate indication of what caused the explosion, or whether there were any injuries. Space One has said the launch was highly automated and required only about a dozen staff at the ground control centre. 

Kairos carried an experimental government satellite capable of temporarily replacing intelligence satellites if they malfunctioned and was supposed to have put it into orbit about 51 minutes after the launch. 

Japan is a relatively tiny participant in the space race, but its rocket engineers are working feverishly to produce more affordable vehicles in order to meet the country's government's and other international clients' growing demand for satellite launches.  

A consortium of Japanese corporations, led by the government-backed Development Bank of Japan, Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace, and construction company Shimizu, founded Space One in 2018. 

Space One intends to launch 20 rockets annually by the late 2020s in order to provide "space courier services" to both domestic and foreign customers.  

About 50 seconds after ignition, a second Japanese rocket engine detonated during testing in July of last year.  

An upgraded version of the Epsilon rocket that had failed to launch in October of the previous year was called the solid-fuel Epsilon S.  

Its testing site in the northern prefecture of Akita was engulfed in flames and a huge plume of grey smoke rose into the sky. 

Last month, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) toasted a successful blast-off for its new flagship rocket, the H3, after years of delays and two previous failed attempts. 

The H3 has been mooted as a rival to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, and could one day deliver cargo to bases on the Moon. 

JAXA’s successful launch followed Japan’s January landing of an unmanned probe on the Moon, making it just the fifth country to achieve a “soft landing” on the lunar surface.