A setback for the Japanese aerospace industry.
On Wednesday, a rocket that was supposed to place a government satellite into orbit exploded on live television.
Filmed by the NHK channel, the images are clear, the rocket transforms into a ball of fire just seconds after takeoff.
Thick smoke then invaded the launch site and flaming debris from the machine fell on the surrounding slopes, triggering the intervention of the firefighters.
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“The launch of the first Kairos rocket was carried out, but we took action to cancel the flight,” responded the start-up Space One in a press release, specifying that it was investigating the reasons for the failure.
Named “Kairos” and 18 meters high, the rocket took off for an inaugural flight from a launch site at the very end of the Kii peninsula, in the Wakayama department, a mountainous and forested area.
The setback is a blow to Japan's ambition to play a greater role in the global space launch services market.
Recently, however, the Japanese space agency Jaxa has achieved several major successes.
Its new H3 heavy launcher successfully took off last month, and in January its small SLIM module landed on the Moon, a historic first for Japan.