Orbital launch vehicle
KAIROS
4-stage all solid fuel small satellite launch vehicle from the Japanese company Space One, founded in 2018 by Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace, construction company Shimizu and the government-backed Development Bank of Japan.
Flights flown3
Success rate0%0/3
Payload to LEO250kg
Cost per kg to LEO$36,000$9M per launch
Maiden flight2024-03-13
Peak year20242 flights
KAIROS is built by Space One of Japan. Company background, funding, contracts and news for this operator are tracked on Space Index. It first flew on 13 March 2024.
Flight record
0% success rate0 of 3 flown · 3 failed
2024peak 2024 · 2 flights2026
First flight2024-03-13
Latest flight2026-03-05
Failures3
Consecutive successes0
Fastest turnaround279d 23h
Payload
| Low Earth orbit | 250kg |
|---|---|
| Sun-synchronous orbit | 150kg |
| Launch cost | $9M |
| Cost per kg to LEO | $36,000 |
Vehicle
| Stages | 4 |
|---|---|
| Length | 18m |
| Diameter | 1.35m |
| Maiden flight | 2024-03-13 |
| Reusable | No |
Pads used
Orbits delivered
Sun-Synchronous Orbit3
Launch history
| Date | Mission | Pad | Orbit | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-05 | KAIROS | Flight 3 | Space One Launch Pad | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Failure |
| 2024-12-18 | KAIROS | Flight 2 | Space One Launch Pad | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Failure |
| 2024-03-13 | KAIROS | Maiden Flight | Space One Launch Pad | Sun-Synchronous Orbit | Failure |
Specifications from Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs, launch records from Space Index. Derived figures are computed here; see sources and method.
Further reading: Operator page