A Japanese private company sends its first rocket into space | News | DW



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The unmanned rocket named MOMO-3 took off Saturday from a test site at Taiki on the island of Hokkiado, north of Japan.

The Japanese aerospace start-up Interstellar Technology said that its 10-meter boat had reached an altitude of about 100 kilometers before diving into the Pacific Ocean.

The flight lasted about 10 minutes and took place after two unsuccessful launches of the same company in 2017 and 2018.

"We proved that our rocket developed with many commercially available parts was able to reach the space," said Interstellar Technology CEO, Takahiro Inagawa, at a press conference. press conference in Hokkaido.

The company said that this feat was the first time that a Japanese commercial rocket was launched in space.

Read more: Japanese companies plan to build lunar colonies

The MOMO-3 rocket takes off from a test site at Taiki

The MOMO-3 rocket is only 50 centimeters wide and 10 meters long

The MOMO-3 rocket weighs about 1.15 tons and is capable of carrying payloads of up to 20 kilograms (44 pounds), although it can not yet send them into orbit.

The Japanese firm is working on the development of cheap commercial rockets capable of carrying small satellites in space. The production of these low-cost gear has become a growing trend in the space sector, with US companies, including SpaceX's Elon Musk, leading the sector.

Read more: Japan lands on an asteroid during a historic mission

nm / rc (AP, dpa)

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