Space One Delays Launch of Kairos No. 2 Rocket to Sun.

Kushimoto, Wakayama Pref., Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)--Space One Co. decided Saturday to delay the launch of the second unit of its Kairos small rocket carrying satellites to Sunday morning.

The Tokyo-based space development startup canceled the launch scheduled for Saturday from its Spaceport Kii liftoff site in the town of Kushimoto in Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, due to strong winds.

According to Space One, conditions were not good for a rocket launch due to strong winds blowing at altitudes above 10 kilometers. There are no problems with the rocket itself or facilities at the liftoff site, it said.

"As the rocket is long and thin, there is a risk of it being damaged if it is hit by a strong side wind," Kozo Abe, executive officer of Space One, said at a press conference in Kushimoto.

If a satellite is put into orbit successfully from the Kairos No. 2 unit, it would be the first such feat in Japan by a rocket developed solely by the private sector.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]