Setbacks in Japan's Drive to Lead Asia's Space Launch Industry

Japan's Space One scrubs a second Kairos rocket attempt due to trajectory issues. Despite recent setbacks in Japanese rocket developments, the government pushes to expand its domestic space sector, aiming for 30 launches annually by the early 2030s. Space One investigates the latest incident.

Japan's Space One was forced to terminate the flight of its Kairos small rocket shortly after liftoff on Wednesday. This incident marks the end of its second attempt in nine months to become the country's first company to deliver a satellite to space. The launch failure is the latest in a series of setbacks for Japanese rocket development efforts.

Authorities are eager to establish Japan as Asia's space transportation hub, with ambitions for an 8 trillion yen ($52 billion) space industry. The second Kairos flight was terminated just 10 minutes after liftoff because "the achievement of its mission would be difficult," according to Space One's statement to reporters.

Local government footage showed the 18-metre solid-propellant rocket losing stability as it ascended from its launch at Spaceport Kii in western Japan. The rocket carried five small satellites, including one for the Taiwan Space Agency, aiming for a sun-synchronous orbit about 500 km above Earth's surface.

(With inputs from agencies.)