Japan Attempts First Rocket Launch to Join SpaceX
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Japan's first privately-funded rocket took off on Sunday from a small platform on the northern island of Hokkaido, as a group of entrepreneurs attempted to join an elite club of enterprises that have commercialized space.
The 10-meter tall rocket, made by Interstellar Technologies Inc., failed to reach its target altitude of 100 kilometers and splashed into the ocean on Sunday, but its backers said they would try again. The startup, founded by former Japanese internet maverick Takafumi Horie, designed and built the rocket, called Momo.