"Space Is Hard" (Again!) -- A 59 Foot Privately-Funded Uncrewed Japanese Launch Vehicle (Solid Fueled)... Explodes On Liftoff, Today.

I must say it is admirable, that private industry continues to try, and try, to reach orbit. Especially our international friends.

But make no mistake. . . they call it. . . "rocket science" -- for a reason. It is. . . daunting. Here's the latest from NBC, after another Japanese private contractor "hard landed" on the moon eleven months ago, in another robotic mission disappointment.

. . .Space One’s small, solid-fueled Kairos rocket exploded shortly after its inaugural launch on Wednesday as the firm tried to become the first Japanese company to put a satellite in orbit.

The 59-foot, four-stage solid-fuel rocket exploded seconds after lifting off just after 11:01 a.m. (10:01 p.m. Tuesday ET), leaving behind a large loud of smoke, a fire, fragments of the rocket and firefighting water sprays near the launchpad, visible on local media livestreams of the launch on the tip of mountainous Kii peninsula in western Japan.

Space One said the flight was “interrupted” after the launch and that it was investigating the situation. There was no immediate indication of what caused the explosion. . . .

Tokyo-based Space One was established in 2018 by a consortium of Japanese companies: Canon Electronics, the aerospace engineering unit of IHI, construction firm Shimizu and the state-backed Development Bank of Japan. Two of Japan’s biggest banks, Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho, also own minority stakes. . . .

Now you know -- and our sincere condolences go out to Space1's whole team. But pick yourself up, and dust yourself off -- and try. . . again. Onward.

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