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 27 September 2026 · 5 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: 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 2029
Astroscale: Books ADRAS-J2, the JAXA mission to capture a three-tonne rocket stage, on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum for 2027 or 2028
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 2028
Warpspace: Agrees with Singapore’s Transcelestial to test interoperability between their optical systems
Space BD: Series C closes above ¥3.5 billion, total raised ¥6.68 billionSpace BD: Six payloads fly on H3 Flight 6 under its rideshare service
iQPS: An Electron launch carrying its Mikura-I satellite aborts at ignition; the satellite flies that Augustispace: Unveils the ULTRA lander and moves Mission 3 to 2028Show 36 earlier milestones
iQPS: Wins a share of Japan’s Ministry of Defense satellite constellation tender
ElevationSpace: Signs with ispace for Japan’s first private lunar sample return, providing the reentry capsule
Axelspace: Axelspace Holdings lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market under code 402Aispace: RESILIENCE crash lands, ending Mission 2 in failureispace: Draper releases $7.7 million more under NASA CLPS task order CP-12ispace: RESILIENCE launches alongside Firefly's Blue Ghost
Pale Blue: Water ion thruster achieves its first in-orbit operationAstroscale: ADRAS-J closes to 15 metres of the rocket body, the closest commercial approach to space debris
Synspective: Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market, raising about ¥10.2B, with a dedicated Electron flight the same weekWarpspace: Closes a Series B through alliances with Udom and Kohoku KogyoiQPS: QPS-SAR-8 reaches orbit on Transporter-11 and makes contact two hours after liftoffAstroscale: Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Marketispace: Raises $53.5 million in an overseas share saleAstroscale: ADRAS-J launches on Electron to inspect a discarded H-2A upper stage, the first commercial rendezvous with unprepared debrisAstroscale: ELSA-d completes its de-orbit operations, closing the debris-removal demonstrationiQPS: Releases first-light images from QPS-SAR-5 after a month of on-orbit calibration
Orbital Lasers: Carved out of SKY Perfect JSAT to commercialise laser debris removal and satellite LiDARiQPS: Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market under code 5595Warpspace: Wins two JAXA studies on Moon-to-Earth and long-distance optical communicationsispace: Mission 1 crashes after software rejects the altimeter readingispace: Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth MarketElevationSpace: Signs a co-creation project with JAXA for high-frequency reentry and recovery from LEOPale Blue: Water-based thruster fires in orbit for the first time, aboard Sony’s EYE satelliteispace: HAKUTO-R Mission 1 launches to the Moon on a Falcon 9Astroscale: ELSA-d demonstrates the first commercial magnetic capture of an object in orbitAxelspace: Four GRUS satellites reach orbit from Baikonur, growing the AxelGlobe constellation to fiveLetara: Wins the Asia-Oceania prize at the S-Booster 2021 space business contestSynspective: StriX-α, the first StriX radar satellite, reaches orbit on a Rocket Lab ElectronSpace BD: JAXA names Space BD an H-IIA and H3 rideshare provider
Interstellar Technologies: MOMO-3 becomes the first privately developed Japanese rocket to reach spaceSpace BD: JAXA picks Space BD to run CubeSat deployment from KiboAxelspace: WNISAT-1, a 10 kg Arctic-monitoring microsatellite for Weathernews, reaches orbitRecently added
All 13 companies
Companies still operating first, then by latest news.
ispace GraduatedLunar robotic spacecraft
Astroscale GraduatedSpace debris removal
Letara Rocket engines that burn plastic
Warpspace Optical relay between satellites
Space BD Launch and ISS brokerage
iQPS GraduatedAll-weather SAR imagery
Space OneJapan’s solid-fuel rocket venture
ElevationSpace Bringing orbit-made materials home
Axelspace GraduatedOptical microsatellites
Pale Blue Water-fuelled satellite propulsion
Synspective GraduatedThe StriX SAR constellation
Orbital Lasers Lasers for debris removal
Interstellar Technologies ZERO, the biomethane launcher
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 2 September 2026: "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 2029."
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