Japan's Space One says Kairos rocket flight terminated after liftoff

Japan's Space One terminated the flight of its Kairos small rocket shortly after liftoff on Wednesday (December 18), marking the end of its second attempt in nine months to become the country's first company to deliver a satellite to space. The flight, which only lasted about 10 minutes, was terminated because "the achievement of its mission would be difficult", Space One said in an email to reporters. Live images from the local Wakayama prefecture government showed the 18-metre (59 ft) solid-propellant rocket blasting off from Spaceport Kii in western Japan at 11:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) but losing stability in its trajectory as it ascended. Space One is investigating the incident and will host a press conference at 2:00 p.m. local time (0500 GMT), the company said. (Production: Keval Singh)