3rd time’s the charm? Watch private Japanese rocket try to reach orbit today

【3/4 配信】カイロスロケット３号機打上げライブ配信 - YouTube

Space One hopes the third time will be the charm for its Kairos rocket.

a small white rocket rises into a cloudy blue sky — Tokyo-based startup Space One’s Kairos rocket launches from the company's Spaceport Kii in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, on Dec. 18, 2024. The launch failed about three minutes after liftoff. (Image credit: STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images)

Space One, which was founded in 2018, aims to become a major player in the small-satellite launch industry. The company wants to be launching 20 missions per year by the end of the decade and 30 per year in the 2030s.

Space One's first rocket is the 59-foot-tall (18 meters) Kairos, which consists of three solid-fuel stages topped by a liquid-propellant upper stage. Kairos can deliver up to 330 pounds (150 kilograms) of payload to sun-synchronous orbit, according to Space One.

Kairos has launched two times to date, encountering serious problems on each occasion.

Kairos' debut flight in March 2024 ended just five seconds after liftoff when the rocket's flight termination system detected lower-than-expected velocity and thrust.

The second launch, in December 2024, lasted longer but also met an explosive end. Space One terminated the mission about three minutes into flight, at an altitude of roughly 62 miles (100 kilometers), after detecting performance anomalies. Five satellites were lost.

Five small spacecraft will go up on today's flight as well. If all goes to plan, they will be deployed about 50 minutes after launch at an altitude of 310 miles (500 kilometers), according to Japanese outlet NHK.

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.