WATCH: Japanese firm's private satellite mission fails as Kairos rocket explodes after launch

Japanese firm Space One's Kairos rocket exploded soon after lifting from the tip of mountainous Kii peninsula in western Japan in an attempt to become the country's first company to send a satellite in orbit.

The 59 feet rocket left huge plumes of smoke and fiery debris above the mountains seconds after Space One's botched launch, The Sun reported.

The firm's unsuccessful inaugural launch was recorded in a dramatic footage showing smoke covering the sky as spurts of water desperately tried to put out the fire.

Company president Masakazu Toyoda said: "The rocket terminated the flight after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult."

Space One's projectile is programmed to self-destruct when it detects errors in its flight path, speed or control system which could potentially cause a crash, endangering people on the ground.

However, the firm has not revealed what error may have been detected by the rocket's automated system that caused it to explode.

Toyoda added: "We don't use the world 'failure', because each trial brings us [...] new data and experience for another challenge."

Space One said the issue happened during step two of the launch, with the first step being liftoff, and all the pieces of the rocket landed on company property.

The rocket was supposed to put a government-made satellite into orbit to gather information and monitor possible dangers from rocket launches from neighbouring North Korea.

However, one of its main purposes was for Japan to play catch-up with the US and China.