Japan's private rocket explodes after launch

By Anadolu staff

Japan's private company Space One's maiden rocket launch on Wednesday failed as its satellite-carrying rocket exploded following the liftoff, local media reported.

Space One Co. has sought to become Japan's first private firm to put a satellite into orbit, but it failed to launch the 18-meter- (59-foot-) long rocket Kairos from the launch site in the Kushimoto town of Wakayama prefecture, at western Japan’s mountainous Kii Peninsula, Tokyo-based Kyodo News Agency said.

Emergency services officials arrived on the spot soon after the incident, but there have been no reports of casualties so far.

The launch was previously scheduled for Saturday, but it was delayed for safety reasons after the company detected a ship in an area of the ocean that it had designated as empty, it added.

Space One, established in 2018, aims to send 30 rockets in a year by 2030s.

Earlier, the company planned to launch its first rocket in 2022, but was postponed four times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and logistics delays, the report also said.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid