On the morning of the 5th, at 11:10 AM, the Kairos 3 small rocket was launched from a site in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, but it exploded 68.8 seconds into flight due to an automatic flight termination measure. The president of the rocket company, Space One, Masakazu Toyota, stated in a press conference that 'there is no failure in our culture,' suggesting that they are still making progress toward launching a satellite into orbit. He emphasized that all launch conditions were favorable, and the rocket performed well during flight until the moment of detonation, which left the team disappointed yet resolute in their mission.

The cause of the explosion remains unclear, but Vice President Nobuhiro Sekino indicated that there might have been an anomaly in one of the two systems responsible for determining the flight termination. He explained that the systems must both be functioning properly to avoid an automatic termination, suggesting that a malfunction in one system led to the activation of the fail-safe. While the flight termination system operated correctly, they are still investigating what specific anomaly triggered the accident. This incident marks another setback for the Kairos program, which has previously seen its first and second launches end in similar automatic explosions due to system errors.

Despite the setbacks, both the company and its leadership view these events as part of their learning curve. The second rocket encountered issues leading to its explosion 80 seconds after liftoff due to combustion control problems in the nozzle, and future launches will likely involve increased scrutiny of their safety systems and protocols to address these challenges. Ultimately, the company remains focused on pushing forward with its plans to successfully place a satellite in orbit, reinforcing their commitment amidst technical difficulties.