Japanese private firm sends first rocket into space

A Japanese aerospace startup has successfully launched a rocket into space for the first time.

The unmanned rocket named MOMO-3 took off Saturday from a test site in Taiki on the northern Japanese island of Hokkiado. 

Japanese aerospace startup Interstellar Technology said its 10-meter (32-foot) craft reached an altitude of about 100 kilometers (60 miles) before splashing down into the Pacific Ocean.

The successful flight lasted about 10 minutes, and came after two failed launches by the same company in 2017 and 2018.

"We proved that our rocket developed with a lot of commercially available parts is capable of reaching space," Interstellar Technology CEO Takahiro Inagawa told a news conference in Hokkaido.

The company said the feat marked the first time a Japanese commercial rocket has been launched into space.