Japanese space venture company Space One is launching a satellite carrying a small Buddha statue into space.
Japan's space venture company Space One launched the 'Kairos No.1' from the launch site in Kushimoto Town, southern Wakayama Prefecture, Honshu, last March, but it exploded seconds after launch. / Photo by Yonhap News
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun on the 13th, Space One will launch the 'Kairos' No. 2 rocket at around 11 a.m. on the 14th from the private rocket launch site 'Space Port Kii' located in Kushimoto Town, southern Wakayama Prefecture, western Honshu.
The rocket will carry five satellites, including a satellite developed by the Japanese space venture company Terra Space equipped with distance measurement devices and other functions, as well as experimental satellites from Taiwan.
Notably, on top of the Terra Space satellite (weighing about 50 kg), a palm-sized 'Seated Tathagata Statue' modeled after a Buddha statue from Daigoji Temple in Kyoto, along with a Buddhist mandala painting, have been loaded. The left, right, and upper parts of the statue are also equipped with structures, collectively called the 'Space Temple.'
The temple that requested the Buddha statue's inclusion stated, "Space and Buddhism have affinity," and added, "We hope this temple will become a place that prays for world peace and well-being beyond borders and races through outer space." If the rocket launch succeeds, the satellite will orbit at an altitude of about 500 km for several years.
Meanwhile, Space One is a space company established in 2018 with investments from major Japanese corporations such as Canon Electronics and IHI Aerospace. The Kairos No. 1 rocket launched in March last year exploded in mid-air five seconds after launch due to detected abnormalities.
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