The debut flight of the first private Japanese KAIROS rocket ended in an accident. It exploded just a few seconds after launch.
The KAIROS rocket was developed by Space One. It is the first private carrier in the history of Japan, created without the support of the aerospace agency JAXA.
KAIROS is designed to launch small loads into low-Earth orbit. Its length is 18 meters, diameter is 1.35 meters, weight (including fuel) is 23 tons. It consists of three solid-propellant lower stages and a liquid-propellant upper stage. KAIROS can carry up to 250 kg of cargo into low Earth orbit and up to 150 kg into a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.
The first attempt to send KAIROS into space took place on March 9. Then the pre-launch countdown had to be interrupted due to the appearance of a ship in a restricted area. The second attempt took place on March 13. It turned out to be unsuccessful for Space One. The rocket took off from the launch pad of Spaceport Kii, but exploded just five seconds after that. Its fragments fell to the ground next to the launch pad. Fortunately, no one was injured during the explosion, and the cosmodrome, apparently, was not damaged.
After the accident, Space One reported that after the launch, the flight termination system was activated. The reason for its operation is still unknown. On board the dead rocket was an experimental satellite intended for the Japanese military.
According to https://spacenews.com
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