The second rocket launch of Japan’s private company Space One also ended in failure on December 18. The Kairos launch vehicle lifted off from the Spaceport Kii in southern Honshu but failed to reach orbit as it strayed away from its trajectory.

Videos from the launch site show the launch vehicle clearing the launch pad and flying nominally before it starts started losing altitude. Just seconds later, it started tumbling down leaving behind a spiral trail of smoke. The flight was terminated three minutes after liftoff.

Video: Japanese startup company Space One’s Kairos No. 2 rocket launch ended in failure today. The company announced after liftoff that it determined continued flight was not feasible so they initiated “flight termination measures.”pic.twitter.com/SbDOHjhMwS https://t.co/0QITL0Ou3U
— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) December 18, 2024

According to Space News, Space One officials said per local media that the problem stemmed from a nozzle on the first stage or the attitude control system of the Kairos rocket.

#kairos #kairosF2

打ち上げ pic.twitter.com/yvYf8kNci6
— jun_t (@junt11662847) December 18, 2024

The company also acknowledged the failure and apologised to its customers – Taiwan Space Agency and Japanese companies Lagrapo, Space Cubics, Terra Space and one anonymous customer – who lost five small satellites.

“We apologize to our customers and those involved in the launch for the failure to achieve the mission to the end, and we are very sorry that we did not meet the expectations of everyone who supported us,” the company stated per Space News. It will now launch an investigation to trace the cause of the problem.

The latest failure marked Space One’s second failure in nine months. Earlier in March, the rocket exploded mere seconds after liftoff in what was its debut flight.

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