Launch of Kairos No. 3 Rocket Canceled

Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Pref., March 4 (Jiji Press)–The launch of the No. 3 unit of the Kairos small rocket scheduled for Wednesday morning has been canceled, the rocket’s developer, Space One Co., said the same day. “A safety system was activated 30 seconds before the planned launch” from Spaceport Kii in the town of Kushimoto in the western Japan prefecture of Wakayama, an official of the Tokyo-based space development startup said. The company has yet to set a new launch date. Space One failed twice in its Kairos launch attempts in 2024. It had also put off the launches scheduled for Feb. 25 and Sunday due to weather conditions. The Kairos No. 3 rocket, measuring about 18 meters in length and weighing around 23 tons, features a three-stage solid-fuel engine along with a liquid-fuel engine. It carries five small satellites. The plan was for the rocket to separate the first satellite in space about an hour after launch. Space One, founded in 2018 with investment from firms including Canon Electronics Inc., aims to provide a service to deliver small satellites into space. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]