(Update) Japan's Space One Fails Again in Rocket Launch

   Kushimoto, Wakayama Pref., Dec. 18 (Jiji Press)--Japanese startup Space One Co. failed in the second launch of its satellite-carrying Kairos small rocket on Wednesday, following the failed first launch in March this year.
   After the launch from the Tokyo-based space startup's Spaceport Kii liftoff site in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, in the morning, the rocket veered off its flight path about 80 seconds later due to an internal issue, and the flight was aborted roughly three minutes later.
   If successful, the launch would have been the first purely private project in Japan to put a satellite into orbit.
   "We will investigate the cause as soon as possible and determine measures to prevent a recurrence," Space One President Masakazu Toyoda said at a press conference later in the day.
   "We want to view this in a positive light and take on the next challenge." Toyoda said. "We will continue to move forward without stalling."

(2024/12/18-17:11)