Private Japanese smallsat rocket fails at launch
Capitalism in space: The second test flight of a private Japanese smallsat rocket company, Interstellar Technologies, today failed immediately at launch.
A rocket developed by a Japanese startup company burst into flames seconds after a failed liftoff Saturday in northern Japan.
The MOMO-2 rocket, developed by Interstellar Technologies, was launched in Taiki town on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island. It was supposed to reach as high as 100 kilometers (62 miles) into space. Television footage showed that the 10-meter (33-foot) pencil rocket lifted only slightly from its launch pad before dropping to the ground, disappearing in a fireball. Footage on NHK public television showed a charred rocket lying on the ground.
The incident caused no injuries.
Rocket science is hard. Competition and freedom carries risks. This company might not be dead, but this failure is definitely a significant setback.
Posted from Belize.
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Capitalism in space: The second test flight of a private Japanese smallsat rocket company, Interstellar Technologies, today failed immediately at launch.
A rocket developed by a Japanese startup company burst into flames seconds after a failed liftoff Saturday in northern Japan.
The MOMO-2 rocket, developed by Interstellar Technologies, was launched in Taiki town on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island. It was supposed to reach as high as 100 kilometers (62 miles) into space. Television footage showed that the 10-meter (33-foot) pencil rocket lifted only slightly from its launch pad before dropping to the ground, disappearing in a fireball. Footage on NHK public television showed a charred rocket lying on the ground.
The incident caused no injuries.
Rocket science is hard. Competition and freedom carries risks. This company might not be dead, but this failure is definitely a significant setback.
Posted from Belize.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Early American Rocket Failures
https://youtu.be/g79K-R7xTFo
4:42
pretty good period-piece (skip to the 10:00 mark for the actual launch & summary of all the stuff that worked great.) >This is how you turn lemon’s, into lemonade.
“…each successful second of test-time, yields vital facts…”
“First Atlas Launch & Blowup 1957-06-11 Convair Astronautics-US Air Force; 1st US ICBM Test”
https://youtu.be/_WP0wbeSce8
13:24
“First launch of an Atlas missile at Cape Canaveral is shown from four different camera angles in this contractor’s progress report. After engine failures, the Atlas explodes when the destruct signal is sent by the Range Safety Officer.”
I’m really sorry in advance, but… they should rename this rocket Mini Antares. Again, sorry, and I wish Interstellar Technologies success.