Japan’s Space One said it terminated the flight of its Kairos small rocket after launch on Wednesday (December 18, 2024), aborting its second bid to become the country’s first company to deliver a satellite to the Earth’s orbit.

The rocket ended the flight “after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult”, Space One said in an email to reporters about 10 minutes after Kairos lifted off from Spaceport Kii in western Japan at 11:00 a.m. (0200 GMT).