The small Kairos rocket belonging to the Japanese company Space One exploded shortly after its launch on Wednesday, as the company was seeking to become the first Japanese company to put a satellite into orbit.
The 18-meter-long, solid-fueled, four-stage rocket exploded seconds after liftoff just after 11:01 a.m. (0201 GMT), leaving a cloud of smoke and a fire near the launch pad on the tip of the Kii Peninsula in western Japan.
Kairos carried an experimental government satellite that could temporarily replace intelligence satellites currently in orbit if they stopped working.
There have been no indications yet about the cause of the explosion or whether there were any casualties. There are usually no people anywhere near the launch pad during the launch process.
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