A small rocket developed by a Japanese startup firm failed in its third launch attempt on Thursday, with its flight aborted shortly after liftoff. Space One’s Kairos rocket lifted off from a launch pad in Kushimoto Town, Wakayama Prefecture, at 11:10 a.m., carrying five small satellites. The Tokyo-based company said it aborted the flight after determining the rocket would not be able to complete its mission, and is investigating the cause.
Businesses in Japan are getting anxious as exports to the Middle East are already seeing an impact from the conflict there. A plastic model maker in central Japan started exporting to Saudi Arabia last September. The situation in the region became tense just as it was planning to expand its sales channels. The company is also worried about spiraling costs as its main material is derived from crude oil.
A UN fact-finding mission has strongly condemned the US-Israeli strikes against Iran, and called for an immediate cessation of attacks by all parties. The Independent United Nations mission investigating the human rights situation in Iran released a statement on Wednesday that denounces the US and Israel, saying the attacks “run counter to the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.”