Japanese space rocket exploded

By Alimat Aliyeva

Kairos, a small solid-fuel rocket developed by the Japanese company Space One, exploded shortly after its first launch on Wednesday, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets.

This rocket became the first domestic product to put a satellite into orbit.

The 18-meter rocket exploded in the morning a few seconds after takeoff, leaving behind a large cloud of smoke, fire, fragments of the rocket and fire-fighting water visible near the launch pad. Local media broadcast this message live.

Space One said it had "suspended flight" after launching from the mountainous Kii Peninsula in western Japan and was investigating the crash. Shuhei Kishimoto, the governor of the Wakayama local government, told reporters that an autonomous flight termination system was activated during the incident.

He didn't say what the problem was. Kishimoto added that there were no casualties near the launch site, and the fire was extinguished.

Space One said the launch was highly automated, including an abort function and the work of dozens of ground control center staff.