Kairos, a small, solid-fuel rocket made by Japan's Space One, exploded shortly after its inaugural launch on Wednesday as the firm tried to become the first Japanese company to put a satellite in orbit, APA reports citing Reuters.
The 18-metre (59 ft) rocket exploded seconds after lifting off at 11:01 a.m. (0201 GMT), leaving behind a large cloud of smoke, a fire, fragments of the rocket and firefighting water sprays near the launch pad, visible on local media livestreams.
Space One said it "terminated the flight" after the launch on the tip of mountainous Kii peninsula in western Japan and was investigating flight data.
Shuhei Kishimoto, governor of local Wakayama government, told reporters after being briefed by Space One that a problem triggered the autonomous flight-termination system. He did not specify what the problem was. There were no injuries near the launch pad, and the fire has been extinguished, Kishimoto added.
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