Japan-made Kairos Rocket Explodes During Launch

Illustration of the launch of Kairos rockets (photo: dock. Space One)

JAKARTA Cairos, a small rocket made by Space One, exploded within five seconds of launch. The explosion occurred after Kairos took off at the Spaceport Kii launch site on Tuesday, March 12. The rocket developed by the Japanese company was launched at 22.01 local time. In a webcast broadcast during the launch, it was seen that the rocket exploded before it crossed the slopes of the surrounding hill. After the explosion occurred, the rocket fragments fell to the ground around the launch pad. There were no casualties in the rocket crash, but the reason for the explosion is not yet known. Currently, the company is investigating the cause of the accident. Although the cause is not yet known, the company has provided a brief statement. Quoting from the Spanews report, Space One said that the rocket stopping system was suddenly triggered after the rocket launched. Kairos was originally planned to launch on March 9, but its launch was canceled about 16 minutes before launch. Space One said that they had to cancel the launch due to the presence of ships in limited offshore waters.

This small rocket is the first orbital vehicle developed by a private Japanese company. This vehicle was created without interference from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) so that its launch is highly anticipated. Although not assisted by JAXA, Cairos was launched to assist Japan's military needs. The launch brought the experimental satellite to test the military's responsive space capabilities, but the launch did not run smoothly. If launches on March 12 are successful, Cairos will be used to serve the needs of a small satellite market. This launch vehicle has a cargo capacity of 150 kilograms for the Solar Synchron Orbit (SSO) and 250 kilograms for a 33 degree tilted orbit.