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A young Japanese aerospace company founded by a former Internet maverick successfully launched a small rocket into space, making it the first Japanese rocket to develop commercially to reach orbit.
Interstellar Technology said the unmanned MOMO-3 rocket had exceeded 100 km altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean. It was launched from the company's test site in Taiki City, on the main island of northern Japan, Hokkaido, and flew about 10 minutes.
Takahiro Inagawa, CEO of Interstellar Technologies, said at a press conference held in Hokkaido: "We have proved that our rocket developed with many commercially available parts was able to reach the end of the day. space."
The rocket, 32 feet long and 1.5 feet in diameter, weighs about one ton. It is capable of carrying payloads weighing up to 44 lbs, but currently lacks the ability to send them into orbit.
MOMO-F3 Rocking Sounding Flight Experiment (Summary) pic.twitter.com/LZ2OexTQ0r
– Interstellar Technologies, Inc. (@natsuroke) May 4, 2019
The company, founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Takafumi Horie, former president of Livedoor, aims to develop low-cost commercial rockets to transport satellites in space.
Mr. Horie has expressed great expectations for his new venture.
"I hope that many manufacturers and satellite manufacturers will come here to join us," he said.
The launch is part of a growing international trend in the space sector, where Japan has fallen behind global competition, led by young US companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Saturday's success came after two failures in 2017 and 2018.
Press Association
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