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 October 2026 · 14 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.
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
ispace: Signs a definitive deal for Argo Space to carry its Lunar Connect relay satellite to lunar orbit on Mission 2.5
iQPS: Signs a rideshare launch contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to fly three QPS-SAR satellites on an H3 rocket
Astroscale: 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 Bankispace: 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 2028
Orbital Lasers: Invests in LogistLab, a maker of large precision mirrors, and partners with it on spaceborne telescope productionShow 40 earlier milestones
Space 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 2028
Axelspace: 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 systemsSpace 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-4ispace: 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 APale 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 EdgeOrbital Lasers: Wins a ¥2.054B Japanese Ministry of Defense contract for research on space laser ranging, running to March 2028iQPS: Wins a share of Japan’s Ministry of Defense satellite constellation tender
ElevationSpace: Signs an MoU with ispace to pursue Japan’s first private lunar sample return, for which it would build the reentry capsuleAxelspace: 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 GhostPale 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 debrisSynspective: Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market, raising about ¥10.2B, in the same week as a dedicated Electron flightWarpspace: 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 calibrationOrbital 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 communicationsRecently added
All 13 companies
Companies still operating first, then by latest news.
Pale Blue Water-fuelled satellite propulsion
Interstellar Technologies ZERO, the biomethane launcher
Synspective GraduatedThe StriX SAR constellation
ispace GraduatedLunar robotic spacecraft
iQPS GraduatedAll-weather SAR imagery
Astroscale GraduatedSpace debris removal
Orbital Lasers Lasers for debris removal
Space BD Launch and ISS brokerage
Letara Rocket engines that burn plastic
Axelspace GraduatedOptical microsatellites
Warpspace Optical relay between satellites
Space OneJapan’s solid-fuel rocket venture
ElevationSpace Bringing orbit-made materials home
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 Pale Blue, dated 7 October 2026: "Wins additional SBIR Phase 3 funding from Japan's science ministry for its in-orbit demonstration."
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