Space startups in Japan
The directory tracks 13 space companies in Japan. They work on Earth observation, debris removal & servicing, launch, logistics and more.
Updated 7 November 2026 · 22 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
Where things stand
As of 27 September 2026
Japan has more public companies in the directory than any country except the United States. ispace, iQPS, Astroscale, Synspective and Axelspace all listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Growth Market between 2023 and 2025. None of the Japanese companies in the directory has shut down.
Astroscale works on removing debris from orbit. Its ADRAS-J spacecraft came within 15 metres of a discarded rocket stage in December 2024, the closest any commercial spacecraft had come to a piece of debris. The next mission, ADRAS-J2, is meant to capture a three-tonne rocket stage, and in September 2026 Astroscale booked it on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket. ispace has crashed two Moon landers, in 2023 and 2025. It has moved its third mission to 2028, on a new lander called ULTRA.
Space One has lost all three of its Kairos rockets, most recently in March 2026. Interstellar Technologies flew MOMO-3 to space in 2019, the first privately developed Japanese rocket to get there, and is building ZERO, a launcher that burns biomethane. Space BD sells rideshare space on Japanese rockets and flew six payloads on H3 Flight 6 in June 2026. Pale Blue makes thrusters that run on water, and fired its first one in orbit in 2023 aboard a Sony satellite.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
ispace: Its US arm, ispace-U.S., is selected for NASA's CLPS 2 lunar delivery contract
Axelspace: Is selected for Phase III of JAXA's Space Strategy Fund to develop a new satellite bus
Space BD: Signs a contract with Space Quarters to use the i-SEEP platform outside Kibo, the ISS's Japanese module
Orbital Lasers: Signs an R&D contract with JAXA to develop a LiDAR altimeter payload for a demonstration on HTV-Xispace: Is selected by JAXA to produce a conceptual design for a lunar solar power tower
Pale Blue: Wins additional SBIR Phase 3 funding from Japan's science ministry for its in-orbit demonstration
Interstellar Technologies: Japan's science ministry allocates an extra ¥3.93B to the ZERO rocket under the SBIR Phase 3 fund
Synspective: Signs a 20-launch Electron deal with Rocket Lab, Rocket Lab's largest commercial Electron contract
Astroscale: Its UK subsidiary signs a £15M Ministry of Defence contract for Project LEDA to build, launch and operate a spacecraftAxelspace: Four of the seven GRUS-3 satellites lose their high-speed downlink to a communications faultShow 40 earlier milestones
Synspective: Signs a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch two StriX satellites on H3ispace: Signs a definitive deal for Argo Space to carry its Lunar Connect relay satellite to lunar orbit on Mission 2.5
ElevationSpace: Signs a rideshare launch contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to fly its second ELS-R spacecraft on an H3
iQPS: Signs a rideshare launch contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to fly three QPS-SAR satellites on an H3 rocketAstroscale: Astroscale France joins an Exotrail-led France 2030 mission, to be contracted by CNES, to deorbit a Eutelsat OneWeb satellite in 2029-2030ispace: Secures about $19M (¥3B) in loan financing from Shizuoka BankAxelspace: Signs an agreement to supply GRUS imagery to Airbus Defence and Spaceispace: ESA and ispace-EUROPE sign the €65M Phase 2 contract for MAGPIE, Europe's first lunar surface rover, to fly on the Mission 4 ULTRA lander in 2029Astroscale: Books ADRAS-J2, the JAXA mission to capture a three-tonne rocket stage, on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum for 2027 or 2028Orbital Lasers: Invests in LogistLab, a maker of large precision mirrors, and partners with it on spaceborne telescope productionSpace BD: Starts renting out satellite transport containers certified for air shipment of hazardous goods
Letara: Raises ¥2.6B (about $16M) led by Headline Asia, JIC Venture Growth Investments and Incubate Fund, ahead of an in-orbit firing testispace: Mitsubishi Heavy to launch the ULTRA lander on an H3 in 2028Axelspace: Two of its seven GRUS-3 satellites capture their first images, nine days after launchAxelspace: All seven next-generation GRUS-3 satellites reach orbit on Transporter-17 and make contact
Warpspace: Agrees with Singapore’s Transcelestial to test interoperability between their optical systemsElevationSpace: Closes a $40M Series B, bringing its total raised to $63.5MSpace BD: Series C closes above ¥3.5 billion, total raised ¥6.68 billionSpace BD: Six payloads fly on H3 Flight 6 under its rideshare serviceiQPS: An Electron launch carrying its Mikura-I satellite aborts at ignition; the satellite flies that AugustPale Blue: Its water ion thruster and water resistojet both operate in orbit on JAXA's RAISE-4iQPS: Wins a ¥370M Cabinet Office tender for a demonstration project to widen the use of small SAR satellite constellationsiQPS: Wins a ¥751M Ministry of Defense order to demonstrate in orbit the technology satellite it is building for the ministryispace: Unveils the ULTRA lander and moves Mission 3 to 2028Astroscale: ADRAS-J completes its operations and begins its deorbitOrbital Lasers: Raises ¥3.02B (about $20M) in a Series AAstroscale: Its UK arm picks Isar Aerospace to launch ELSA-M, which will capture and remove an end-of-life Eutelsat OneWeb satelliteiQPS: Its parent, QPS Holdings, agrees to raise about ¥15.2B by issuing shares to SKY Perfect JSAT, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and MitsuurokoWarpspace: Wins a JAXA contract for a concept study of a Moon-to-Earth optical relay for lunar surface activitiesPale Blue: Opens its Tsukuba Production Engineering Base for mass production of propulsion systemsInterstellar Technologies: Satoshi Nakayama, VP of launch vehicles, becomes co-representative President alongside CEO Takahiro InagawaPale Blue: Selected for a Space Strategy Fund theme to develop orbital transfer vehicles, starting full development of its micro-OTVInterstellar Technologies: Completes a ¥20.1B Series F with SBI Group, Nomura Real Estate, B Dash Ventures and SMBC EdgeAstroscale: Its Japanese arm wins a ¥1B Ministry of Defense contract to develop a mechanism for gripping satellites in orbitiQPS: Arranges a ¥6.2B syndicated term loan led by Mizuho Bank to fund its constellationWarpspace: Raises a Series C led by SPARX's Space Frontier Fund to commercialise its optical communications modemWarpspace: Is selected for a JAXA Space Strategy Fund programme to develop interoperable satellite optical communicationsRecently added
All 13 companies
Companies still operating first, then by latest news.
ispace GraduatedLunar robotic spacecraft
Axelspace GraduatedOptical microsatellites
Space BD Launch and ISS brokerage
Orbital Lasers Lasers for debris removal
Pale Blue Water-fuelled satellite propulsion
Interstellar Technologies ZERO, the biomethane launcher
Synspective GraduatedThe StriX SAR constellation
Astroscale GraduatedSpace debris removal
ElevationSpace Bringing orbit-made materials home
iQPS GraduatedAll-weather SAR imagery
Letara Rocket engines that burn plastic
Warpspace Optical relay between satellites
Space OneJapan’s solid-fuel rocket venture
How many space startups are there in Japan?
Space Bandits tracks 13 space companies in Japan. Of those, 8 are active startups, and 5 have grown past the startup stage.
What do space startups in Japan work on?
The biggest groups are Earth observation (3), debris removal & servicing (2) and launch (2), out of 7 sectors in all.
What is the latest news from space startups in Japan?
The most recent milestone on record is from ispace, dated 7 November 2026: "Its US arm, ispace-U.S., is selected for NASA's CLPS 2 lunar delivery contract."
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