| Spaceport Kii | |||||||
| Location: | Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan | ||||||
| Coordinates: | 33.5443°N 135.8895°W | ||||||
| Time Zone: | JST | ||||||
| Utc Offset: | +9 | ||||||
| Operator: | Space One | ||||||
| Pads: | 1 | ||||||
| Paddetails: |
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| Tlaunches: | 1 | ||||||
is a commercial spaceport located in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture in Japan. Japan's first private spaceport, it is operated by Space One, who are using it to launch their solid-fuel rocket KAIROS. As of 26 March 2024, only one launch attempt has been made on the site on 13 March, which ended up being a failure.[1] [2]
Spaceport Kii is located near the southernmost tip of Honshu and is only a two-minute (1.9 kilometer) drive from Kii-Uragami Station in Nachikatsuura.
The launch site was funded by several Japanese corporations, including Canon Inc., Shimizu Corporation (who also constructed the site),[3] and IHI Corporation.[4] Ground broke on 19 November 2019.[3]
The first launch attempt of the KAIROS rocket was scheduled on 8 March 2024,[5] however it was delayed to the 13th due to a ship in too close of proximity.[6] It launched on the 13th, but disintegrated just seconds later.[1]
Space One has stated that it plans to have around 20 launches of KAIROS a year.[3]