The launch of privately developed Japanese sounding rocket MOMO-2 resulted in a catastrophic failure, as the spacecraft crashed back to Earth after only a few seconds in flight. The rocket exploded, damaging the ground facilities.
The MOMO rocket family is developed by a private startup company with the ambitious name ‘Interstellar Technologies.’ The rocket was launched from Taiki, Hokkaido prefecture early on Saturday morning.
The rocket successfully blasted off from the launchpad, but only seconds into the flight its engine shut down. The spacecraft then emitted a thick plume of gray smoke, while fire emerged from the side of its fuel tank, presumably due to rupture. The rocket then crashed back to Earth, exploding in a spectacular fireball, and setting the launchpad ablaze.
The launch was livestreamed and, despite the failure, the stream continued, giving viewers an opportunity to watch the spacecraft burn to ashes.
