A Japanese start-up, Space One, faced a setback when its first rocket exploded just seconds after takeoff. The explosion left behind a large plume of smoke and set off a fire in a nearby forest that firefighters were battling to extinguish. The rocket was carrying a satellite belonging to the Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center, a branch of one of Japan’s spy agencies, and was intended to be an alternative if the government’s existing satellites were down.
Space One, established in 2018, aims to provide a commercial space transportation service that uses small rockets to launch satellites into space. The failure of its first rocket launch represents a blow to Japan’s efforts to enter the commercial space transportation market, which is expected to triple in value by 2025.
The explosion also had an impact on Canon Electronics, one of the investors in Space One, as its stock price tumbled sharply. Space One is part of a growing number of start-ups worldwide that have joined the space race in recent years, as the industry shifts toward one driven by private enterprise and uses space technology for smaller-scale, commercial purposes.
Japan has a robust space program and has been trying to develop new satellite-launching rockets to replace its current active rocket, H-IIA. Despite the setback, Japan remains a key player in the global space industry, with significant achievements such as becoming the fifth country to send a spacecraft that made a soft landing on the moon.
2024-03-13 03:01:56
Article from www.nytimes.com