Japanese startup says space rocket launch aborted after takeoff

A Japanese startup's third attempt to put a satellite in orbit failed on Thursday after its rocket spiraled back to Earth shortly after takeoff.

Space One, hoping to become the first private Japanese firm to put a satellite in space, said that what went wrong was "under investigation."

TV footage showed the Kairos rocket blasting off from the launch site in the coastal Wakayama region of western Japan at 11:10 a.m. (0210 GMT) up into the blue sky.

But shortly afterwards, the slim, white 18-meter rocket appeared to run out of power and head back downwards in a spin.

It was unclear where it landed.

Tokyo-based Space One told a press conference that "no major anomalies" had been identified within the aircraft itself and the rocket had not deviated from its flight path.

"So it seems reasonable to assume that some issue occurred within the flight interruption system," the firm said, referring to a safety mechanism capable of automatically ending the flight.

The rocket was carrying several satellites, including one for a high school in Tokyo, according to the firm.

The company's first launch attempt ended in spectacular failure in March 2024 when the solid-fuel rocket exploded seconds after liftoff.

A second try started off better only for the rocket to suddenly spiral downwards after engineers terminated the operation because of a technical problem.

The latest launch had been slated to happen on Wednesday, only to be cancelled due to another glitch just 28.9 seconds before liftoff.