Japan Startup’s Rocket Launch Halted Due to Ship in Hazard Area

The Kairos rocket waiting for the launch at Space Port Kii in Kushimoto Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, on March 9.Photographer: Takumi Harada/Yomiuri Shimbun/AP Photos

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By Nicholas Takahashi and Erica Yokoyama

March 9, 2024 at 5:43 AM UTC

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The planned launch of what would have been Japan’s first private spacecraft to take off from a commercial launchpad was called off Saturday due to a ship that entered a hazard area downrange.

Space One Co., a startup backed by Canon Inc., plans to try hold the launch on March 13 or later, board of directors member Kozo Abe said at a news conference near the coastal launch site in Wakayama prefecture, about 430 kilometers (270 miles) southwest of Tokyo. Abe did not offer details on the ship.