Japan's Space One said its Kairos small rocket self-destructed 69 seconds after lift-off on Thursday, failing to achieve the country's first entirely commercial satellite launch for the third attempt in a row. ADVERTISEMENTKairos, the 18-metre (59 ft) solid-propellant rocket, carried five experimental satellites, including from Tokyo-based ArkEdge Space and the Taiwan Space Agency. But no Japanese company has achieved a satellite launch with a commercially-built rocket. "Building a launch track record quickly is crucial to competing with global small rocket rivals," said Kota Umeda, research fellow at the Institute of Geoeconomics in Tokyo. "Capturing SpaceX's market will be tough, but Japan already has no shortage of customers seeking to launch small satellites."

Source: The Telegraph March 05, 2026 09:17 UTC