Though it has suffered decades of opposition, it’s now hard to find anyone who can still say that the commercialization of space has been a resounding fortune for America. SpaceX has completely disrupted a stagnant industry: of the 108 U. S. rocket launches, the U. S. has been launched in a global way. In the U. S. in 2023, 98 of them were conducted via the Falcon 9. Even smaller players, such as Rocket Lab and Blue Origin, are innovating and bringing new technologies to market, at a pace that classic aviation corporations have not. achieved from the race for the area.
It’s no surprise that other countries are looking to mirror this success. Japan, in particular, has followed NASA’s style in awarding lucrative area contracts to domestic primary generation corporations such as Mitsubishi, Honda, NEC, Toyota, Canon, Kyocera, and Sumitomo. In recent years, this has resulted in the progression of a number of spacecraft and missions, such as the Hakuto-R lunar lander. It also laid the groundwork for interesting long-term projects, such as the manned lunar rover that Toyota and Honda are developing. Co-developing the Artemis program.
But so far, Japan’s advertising aspirations are missing one element: an orbital booster rocket. Although the country has state-funded launchers, such as the H-IIA and H3 rockets, they come with the same old bureaucracy that one would expect from a government program. In comparison, a privately developed and operated powertrain promises lower prices and a higher release rate, especially if there are several competing cars on the market.
With the recent test flight of Space One’s KAIROS rocket, the final piece of the puzzle may nevertheless fall into place. Although the launch sadly failed shortly after liftoff, the fact that the personal rocket was able to take off – literally and figuratively – is a promising sign of things to come.
Founded in 2018 with investments from Canon Electronics, IHI Corporation, and Shimizu Corporation, Space One is a privately held spaceflight company that aims to offer competitively priced “small satellite” launches.
Operating from its own personal release site, known as Space Port Kii, Space One believes it can offer a shorter time between contractual agreement and flight than other providers. Located at the southern tip of the island of Honshu, there is no shortage of ocean to the east and south, making it an ideal location for releases to orbital inclinations.
Space One’s main partners aren’t just investors, either. According to the company’s website, he brings something unique to his experience in the industry. For example, Canon’s expertise in generating cameras for customers with optimized charging is known as one of the tactics. in which the company hopes to reduce the load on its rockets and spacecraft.
The KAIROS rocket, which means “good timing” in Greek, is the first launch vehicle designed and built through Space One. It uses 3 stages of solid propellant to place 250 kilograms (550 pounds) into low Earth orbit and is about 18 meters (59 feet) tall on the release platform.
In terms of physical scale and payload capacity, the closest competitor to the KAIROS deserves to be Rocket Lab’s Electron, which is about the same height (depending on the payload fairing) and only narrower. The Electron can carry three hundred kg (660 lb) into orbit, however, it is worth noting that its payload capacity has increased over time as the vehicle has been progressively improved, which may still be the case with KAIROS.
None of the rockets are designed to compete directly with SpaceX’s Falcon Nine workhorse. These smaller rockets seek to provide tailored release to satellites that have express orbit or programming needs that SpaceX can’t meet (at least, not for the same cost) with its “trips. “”Shared missions” that place multiple small satellites in the same orbit, inclinations and altitudes simultaneously.
With this in mind, the fact that KAIROS uses forged state rocket engines can be considered a great advantage. Although more difficult to control, forged fuel engines are much less expensive and less complicated to build than their liquid counterparts. They can also be stored for long periods of time and inserted at any time. For this reason, forged rocket engines have long been used for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and other rocket-propelled weapons.
While Space One’s ambitions are naturally peaceful, the same characteristics that are vital for an intercontinental ballistic missile — long life in the garage, maximum reliability, instant availability — are also vital if it seeks to deliver short-duration orbital launches.
KAIROS took off for the first time on March 13. When the rocket cleared the launch pad, the flight stop formula went off after about five seconds and completely destroyed the vehicle. At that time, KAIROS hadn’t gained much altitude. so the debris fell onto the launch pad and the equipment on the floor. There were no injuries and the resulting fire was temporarily extinguished.
At the moment, there is no official data on the cause of the vehicle’s self-destruction. The video of the flight, brief as it is, shows no apparent problem: the thruster flew straight and appeared stable. An investigation is underway and I hope we will know more soon.
In a statement to the press, Space One president Masakazu Toyoda said, “We definitely accept what happened and remain in position for the next challenge,” though he declined to call the launch a failure.
While this is clearly not the end result the company was hoping for, the first flight of a new rocket is risky. This is doubly true for a privately designed and built model. SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, Virgin Orbit, Astra, and Relativity Space all experienced errors during the inaugural launch of their respective rockets. In fact, most of them have experienced multiple errors. Like those companies, Space One’s future will depend on what happens on the second, third, and fourth flights.
Video of the launch and explosion https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=AErsimi1X2c
Santa Vaca!! Thanks for posting. The burning piece fell directly into the release platform and continued to burn!This position is a loss!
Fluid limitation.
In the case of amateur rockets, mixing and melting the forged propellant is an incredibly complicated step.
Rocket fuel published in 3D.
https://techcrunch. com/2022/09/27/firehawks-rocket-engines-and-3d-printed-fuel-hit-testing-milestones-ahead-of-first-launch/
I think it’s a 3D printer that you wouldn’t need to have in the garage.
You’re laughing, but. . .
https://aerospaceamerica. aiaa. org/departments/3d-printed-rocket-fuel/
I’ve got to walk, I’ve got to run, I’ve got to explode, fly.
> The video of the flight, however brief, with no apparent problems.
I’m not a wheelchair rocket specialist, however, when I first watched the video, I realized it had tilted too soon, and that may have been the explanation for the shutdown.
This Space One logo looks like the logo of my country’s first TV show.
https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/ARD_(announcer)
Could it be that I wasn’t a kitten copied here?;)
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