Kairos, a small, solid-fuel rocket made by Japan’s Space One explods just seconds into its inaugural launch

Kairos, a compact solid-fuel rocket developed by Japan’s Space One, suffered a catastrophic failure just moments into its maiden launch on Wednesday as the company aimed to become the first Japanese entity to deploy a satellite into orbit. The incident represents a setback for Space One and Japan’s rocket industry at large, occurring at a time when both the government and investors are increasing their backing for the sector amidst a national security buildup and surging demand for commercial satellites.

The 18-meter (59 ft) rocket exploded merely five seconds after liftoff, leaving a significant cloud of smoke, a fire, debris from the rocket, and sprays of firefighting water in its wake near the launch site on the mountainous Kii peninsula in western Japan, all visible on local media livestreams. “The rocket terminated the flight after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult,” stated Masakazu Toyoda, the company’s president.

Space One did not specify the exact cause of the self-destruction, which occurred shortly after ignition of the first-stage engine, nor did they announce a timeline for the next launch of Kairos, only committing to conducting an investigation into the explosion.

The company explained that the launch process is highly automated, requiring only around a dozen ground personnel, and that the rocket is programmed to self-destruct if it detects errors in its flight trajectory, velocity, or control system that could potentially lead to a crash endangering individuals on the ground. “We don’t use the word ‘failure’ because each attempt provides us with new data and experience for future endeavors,” Toyoda stated during a press conference.

Fortunately, there were no reported injuries in the vicinity of the launch pad, and the fire has been successfully extinguished, as confirmed by Shuhei Kishimoto, the governor of Wakayama prefecture.

Kairos was carrying an experimental government satellite designed to serve as a temporary replacement for intelligence satellites in orbit in the event of their malfunction. The launch had initially been scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to the presence of a ship in the nearby restricted maritime area.