Space One's Kairos rocket failed to complete its third mission after launching from the company's Spaceport Kii site in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The Tokyo-based company said it ended the flight after determining that the mission could not succeed.
The rocket lifted off at 11:10 a.m. local time on March 5, 2026, according to Space.com. The flight lasted about two minutes before Space One activated its termination measures. The company did not immediately identify the underlying cause and said more details would be released when available.
Five small spacecraft were aboard the mission. They had been scheduled for deployment roughly 50 minutes after launch at an altitude of about 500 kilometers, but all were lost when the flight ended. The outcome continued a difficult opening sequence for Kairos, whose first two launch attempts also ended before reaching their objectives.
The first Kairos launch, in March 2024, was terminated only seconds after liftoff when its safety system detected velocity and thrust below the expected levels. A second attempt in December 2024 reached an altitude of roughly 100 kilometers before performance anomalies led controllers to stop the flight about three minutes after launch. Five satellites were lost on that mission as well.
Kairos is an 18-meter rocket built for the small-satellite market. Its design uses three solid-fuel stages and a liquid-propellant upper stage. Space One says the vehicle is intended to place payloads weighing up to 150 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbit.
Founded in 2018, Space One is backed by Japanese businesses including Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace and Shimizu, along with the government-owned Development Bank of Japan. It aims to establish a frequent commercial launch service and has said it wants to conduct 20 missions annually by the end of the decade, increasing to 30 per year during the 2030s.
The latest result leaves the company with a substantial investigation before another launch attempt. It also illustrates the technical risks facing new launch providers as they move from vehicle development to reliable operations. Space One's long-term plans depend on demonstrating that Kairos can recover from the three-flight sequence and consistently deliver satellites to orbit.
