A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke and debris on live stream TV.
The unmanned 59-foot Space One Kairos spacecraft lifted off from a platform in western Japan's Kii Peninsula on Wednesday, but it exploded moments after it launched.
Local media was live streaming the inaugural event by Space One, a start-up trying to become the country's first private company to put a satellite into orbit.
Check out the video ... the 23-ton solid-fueled rocket blasted off from the launchpad, leaving a massive cloud of white smoke in its wake as it hurtled upward. Suddenly, the craft intentionally detonated, transforming into fiery wreckage dropping to the ground.
The Space One president said, "The rocket terminated the flight after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult.”
Space One is now investigating the flight data to determine what went wrong, and there are no injuries reported on the ground from the falling wreckage.
Typically no people are on pads during a launch, and the company says the launch only requires about 12 staff members at the ground control center.