A rocket launched by Taiwanese company TiSpace from Japan's northern Hokkaido island failed shortly after takeoff on Saturday, falling short of its goal to become the first foreign firm to complete a successful launch from Japanese soil.
The 12-metre hybrid-fuelled VP01 rocket, operated through TiSpace’s Japanese subsidiary jtSPACE, lifted off at 11:40 a.m. local time (0240 GMT) from the Hokkaido Spaceport. Its mission was to reach an altitude of 100 kilometres (62 miles), considered the boundary of outer space.
However, video from NHK showed the rocket’s flight becoming unstable within seconds of launch before it went into freefall and crashed within 1.2 kilometres of the site. TiSpace confirmed it terminated the flight early. No injuries or property damage were reported.
The test flight was intended to evaluate engine performance and trajectory control. A successful result would have been a major step toward launching Taiwanese-made satellites on domestically developed rockets.
Despite the setback, the launch marks a milestone in Japan's growing commercial space sector, which has recently opened up to foreign companies through public-private partnerships like the one in Hokkaido.
Gen Z protests swept 34 German cities on Saturday (31 October) over education, living costs and military service proposals. Violence erupted in Fra...
Iran designated Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as terrorist organisations on Sunday, (1 November), and classified the country's f...
Since 2021, only 9 per cent of $8 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan can be traced beyond initial recipients in public re...
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical limits in statements posted to social media platforms on Saturday (31 October).
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London.
A Chinese-made AI chip has matched Nvidia’s H200 in tests conducted by its developer, marking a potential breakthrough in China’s efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
A hacking group linked to North Korea is widely believed to be behind the theft of $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency giant Binance, a cyberattack that experts describe as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
A Chinese-made AI chip has matched Nvidia’s H200 in tests conducted by its developer, marking a potential breakthrough in China’s efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
Two of the United States' largest technology companies reported robust revenue growth in their latest quarterly results, underscoring the continued impact of artificial intelligence and cloud computing on the sector.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has praised Kazakhstan’s AI ambitions, highlighting its potential to become a global hub for Physical AI, launch startups and transform industries.
Türkiye is preparing to sue Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, over age-inappropriate content on social media, Turkish Education Minister Yusuf Tekin has said.
A judge in the U.S. state of New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found the company misled consumers, in a case linked to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment