Japanese company aborts second satellite launch after take-off

The company said it had aborted the flight after concluding it was unlikely to complete its mission.

Space One aims to be Japan’s first company to put a satellite into orbit, hoping to boost the country’s lagging space industry with a small rocket for an affordable space transport business.

People watch Space One’s Kairos No 2 rocket launch (Kyodo News/AP)

Wednesday’s flight, postponed from Saturday due to strong winds, came nine months after a failed debut flight in March, when the rocket was intentionally exploded five seconds after take-off.

The flight was carrying a government satellite that was intended to monitor North Korea’s missile launches and other military activities.

Space One said it had fixed the cause of the debut flight failure, which stemmed from a miscalculation of the rocket’s first-stage propulsion.

Japan hopes the company can pave a way for a domestic space industry that competes with the United States.

Tokyo-based Space One was set up in 2018 with investments from major Japanese companies, including Canon Electronics, IHI, Shimizu and major banks, to commercialise space delivery services at lower costs and regular flights as many as 20 times a year, compared to six currently planned by the government-led space programme.

Japan’s space development programmes are led by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, and industry leaders such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and IHI, as they develop two main flagship rockets, the large H3 rocket and the much smaller Epsilon, to cater to the growing satellite transport business.