TOKYO, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese startup on Wednesday made a last-minute decision to cancel its postponed launch of a small rocket.
Space One Co. said it aborted the process 30 seconds before the planned liftoff of the No. 3 unit of its Kairos rocket from a site in the western prefecture of Wakayama.
The 18-meter, 23-ton solid-fuel rocket was loaded with five satellites, which were to be detached and put into orbit about 50 minutes after liftoff, at an altitude of roughly 500 km.
Weather conditions had forced the space development company to reschedule the launch initially set for February. It was postponed until Sunday and then to 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday, again due to unfavorable weather conditions.
Founded in 2018, the Tokyo-based company has failed twice in its attempt to launch a rocket. The first Kairo rocket exploded about five seconds after liftoff in March 2024 due to an error in thrust prediction, and the flight of the second unit later that year ended in self-destruction following an altitude control problem. ■
