TOKYO: The Kairos-2 spaceship of Japan's Space One manufacturer, the launch of which has been delayed repeatedly, took off on Wednesday from the Spaceport Kii private launch site in the Japanese prefecture of Wakayama, according to a broadcast.
Kairos is a small solid-propellant, 59-foot-long rocket, weighing 23 tonnes. The rocket carries five small satellites, which are scheduled to separate 50 minutes after launch at an altitude of about 310.6 miles and place them into orbit.
If the launch is successful and the satellites enter the targeted orbit, this will be the first time in Japan's history when a satellite was launched purely by private business.
The first launch of the Kairos rocket was scheduled for March 9, but after the final countdown, the rocket failed to move. Another attempt was made 15 minutes later, but again the rocket failed to move, and the launch was postponed to 13 March. During the re-launch on 13 March, the rocket exploded in mid-air a few seconds after lift-off.