A quick and disappointing end to what should have been an exciting launch:
A Japanese solid-fueled rocket exploded mere seconds into its inaugural launch in a major setback for the country's quest to space as private firm Space One tried to become the country's first company to put a satellite in orbit.
Kairos, the 59-foot tall spacecraft, lifted off at 11:01 a.m. in the mountainous Kii Peninsula in western Japan on Wednesday
Five seconds after Kairos left its launch pad, the middle of the rocket let out a large explosion, and the unoccupied craft burst into a ball of fire and smoke.
Some other views of the mishap:
A detected problem reportedly "triggered the autonomous flight-termination system," leading to the breakup.
Space One "was created in 2018 from an integration of several companies," and was billed as an "easy and affordable" way to get payloads into space. The company touts what it describes as the "shortest launch operation" and the "world's highest frequency of launches" at more than 20 per year.
According to the New York Times, the rocket was carrying a satellite belonging to the Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, a Japanese spy agency branch.
The craft "was to be an alternative if the government's existing satellites were down."
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