Japan’s bid to become a private spacefaring nation hit a painful snag once again. Space One’s KAIROS No. 3 rocket self-destructed just 69 seconds after liftoff on March 5, 2026, failing to achieve the country’s first entirely commercial satellite launch for the third time in a row.
The KAIROS rocket, a solid-propellant vehicle standing 18 metres tall, launched from a private pad at Spaceport Kii in Western Japan.
This facility is located at the southern tip of the Kii Peninsula. The launch took place at 11:10 a.m. local time (7:40 a.m. IST). While the rocket was operated by the Japanese company Space One, it was carrying five experimental satellites for different clients.
These included hardware from the Tokyo-based company ArkEdge Space and others from the Taiwan Space Agency. Although the rocket successfully lifted off, it exploded shortly after leaving the ground, failing to reach orbit.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ROCKET AFTER IT LAUNCHED?
Live footage showed the rocket flying on a wobbly trajectory within two minutes of blastoff. The vehicle ended its flight automatically at an altitude of 29 kilometres above the Pacific Ocean.
Space One’s Vice President Nobuhiro Sekino said at a press conference that no significant abnormalities were found in the flight or onboard equipment before the self-destruction, suggesting the rocket’s autonomous flight termination system itself may have malfunctioned.
HAS THIS ROCKET EVER FAILED BEFORE?
Yes, and more than once. This is the third consecutive failure for Space One’s KAIROS rocket, which also failed during two launches in 2024.
Space One is a joint venture backed by optical electronics maker Canon, aerospace giant IHI, builder Shimizu, and other Japanese firms.
WHY DOES IT MATTER IF JAPAN CANNOT LAUNCH ITS OWN ROCKET?
Japan launched only three rockets in all of 2025, far short of its target of 30 annual launches by the early 2030s.
With defence needs growing and China ramping up its space ambitions, Japan is under pressure to develop homegrown launch options and reduce its dependence on American rockets, including SpaceX.
The government has already granted million-dollar subsidies to Space One and other domestic rocket startups.
For now, no Japanese company has successfully launched a satellite on a commercially-built rocket. Space One has not announced a timeline for its next attempt.
