Space One, which hopes to become the first Japanese private company to successfully launch a satellite into orbit, will make another attempt to launch its Kairos rocket on Saturday. An earlier attempt failed in March.
The Kairos rocket will be launched on Saturday at 11 a.m. local time (3 a.m. Belgian time) from the launch pad in Wakayama, in the west of the country. The rocket will carry five satellites, including one from Taiwan’s space agency and others designed by Japanese students and companies. A successful effort would boost Japan’s ambition to quickly play a bigger role in the global market for space launch services.
In March, the Kairos rocket, carrying a small Japanese government test satellite, was launched once, but seconds after launch the rocket turned into a ball of fire, with black smoke filling the launch pad area.