https://www.spacebandits.io/countries/japan Dated, sourced milestones from the space companies in Japan that Space Bandits tracks. en https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2026-09-02/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 Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT 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. Source: https://www.ispace-inc.com/2026/09/02/esa-and-ispace-europe-mark-official-signing-of-europes-first-lunar-polar-ice-exploration-rover-mission/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/astroscale astroscale/2026-09-01/Books ADRAS-J2, the JAXA mission to capture a three-tonne rocket stage, on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum for 2027 or 2028 Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT Books ADRAS-J2, the JAXA mission to capture a three-tonne rocket stage, on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum for 2027 or 2028. Source: https://isaraerospace.com/press/isar-aerospace-signs-launch-contract-with-astroscale-japan https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/letara letara/2026-08-21/Raises ¥2.6B (about $16M) led by Headline Asia, JIC Venture Growth Investments and Incubate Fund, ahead of an in-orbit firing test Fri, 21 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT Raises ¥2.6B (about $16M) led by Headline Asia, JIC Venture Growth Investments and Incubate Fund, ahead of an in-orbit firing test. Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/21/japanese-space-tech-startup-letara-expands-beyond-satellite-thrusters-with-16m/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2026-07-29/Mitsubishi Heavy to launch the ULTRA lander on an H3 in 2028 Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Mitsubishi Heavy to launch the ULTRA lander on an H3 in 2028. Source: https://spacenews.com/h3-to-launch-next-ispace-lunar-lander-mission/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/warpspace warpspace/2026-07/Agrees with Singapore’s Transcelestial to test interoperability between their optical systems Wed, 01 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT Agrees with Singapore’s Transcelestial to test interoperability between their optical systems. Source: https://transcelestial.com/blog/transcelestial-and-warpspace-partner-on-interoperability-for-leo-satellite-communications/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/space-bd space-bd/2026-06-17/Series C closes above ¥3.5 billion, total raised ¥6.68 billion Wed, 17 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Series C closes above ¥3.5 billion, total raised ¥6.68 billion. Source: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000156.000050164.html https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/space-bd space-bd/2026-06-12/Six payloads fly on H3 Flight 6 under its rideshare service Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT Six payloads fly on H3 Flight 6 under its rideshare service. Source: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000156.000050164.html https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/iqps iqps/2026-06/An Electron launch carrying its Mikura-I satellite aborts at ignition; the satellite flies that August Mon, 01 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT An Electron launch carrying its Mikura-I satellite aborts at ignition; the satellite flies that August. Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/rocket-lab-launch-iqps-radar-satellite-grain-goddess-provides https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2026-03-27/Unveils the ULTRA lander and moves Mission 3 to 2028 Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT Unveils the ULTRA lander and moves Mission 3 to 2028. Source: https://spacenews.com/ispace-redesigns-lunar-lander-introduces-lunar-communications-service/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/space-one space-one/2026-03-05/Kairos flight 3 terminated about two minutes after liftoff, five payloads lost Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT Kairos flight 3 terminated about two minutes after liftoff, five payloads lost. Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/03/05/japan/science-health/kairos-launch/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/iqps iqps/2025-12/Wins a share of Japan’s Ministry of Defense satellite constellation tender Mon, 01 Dec 2025 12:00:00 GMT Wins a share of Japan’s Ministry of Defense satellite constellation tender. Source: https://i-qps.net/en/news/3379/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/elevationspace elevationspace/2025-09/Signs with ispace for Japan’s first private lunar sample return, providing the reentry capsule Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:00:00 GMT Signs with ispace for Japan’s first private lunar sample return, providing the reentry capsule. Source: https://ispace-inc.com/news-en/?p=7871 https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/axelspace axelspace/2025-08-13/Axelspace Holdings lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market under code 402A Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:00:00 GMT Axelspace Holdings lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market under code 402A. Source: https://www.utokyo-ipc.co.jp/en/news/2025/08/axelspace_exit/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2025-06-06/RESILIENCE crash lands, ending Mission 2 in failure Fri, 06 Jun 2025 12:00:00 GMT RESILIENCE crash lands, ending Mission 2 in failure. Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/06/06/ispaces-resilience-lander-crash-lands-on-the-moon/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2025-03-10/Draper releases $7.7 million more under NASA CLPS task order CP-12 Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:00 GMT Draper releases $7.7 million more under NASA CLPS task order CP-12. Source: https://ispace-us.com/2025/03/10/draper-awards-ispace-an-additional-7-7-million-as-part-of-the-nasa-clps-cp-12-task-order/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/space-one space-one/2025-01-16/ORIX invests ahead of the third Kairos flight Thu, 16 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT ORIX invests ahead of the third Kairos flight. Source: https://www.orix.co.jp/grp/en/newsrelease/250116_ORIXE.html https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2025-01-15/RESILIENCE launches alongside Firefly's Blue Ghost Wed, 15 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT RESILIENCE launches alongside Firefly's Blue Ghost. Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/01/15/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-firefly-aerospace-and-ispace-moon-landers-on-falcon-9-rocket-from-the-kennedy-space-center/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/pale-blue pale-blue/2025/Water ion thruster achieves its first in-orbit operation Wed, 01 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT Water ion thruster achieves its first in-orbit operation. Source: https://pale-blue.co.jp/news/946/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/space-one space-one/2024-12-18/Kairos flight 2 terminated after thrust vector control fails, five satellites lost Wed, 18 Dec 2024 12:00:00 GMT Kairos flight 2 terminated after thrust vector control fails, five satellites lost. Source: https://spacelaunchnow.app/launch/kairos-flight-2/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/astroscale astroscale/2024-12/ADRAS-J closes to 15 metres of the rocket body, the closest commercial approach to space debris Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:00:00 GMT ADRAS-J closes to 15 metres of the rocket body, the closest commercial approach to space debris. Source: https://payloadspace.com/astroscales-adras-j-to-rendezvous-with-orbital-debris/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/synspective synspective/2024-12/Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market, raising about ¥10.2B, with a dedicated Electron flight the same week Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:00:00 GMT Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market, raising about ¥10.2B, with a dedicated Electron flight the same week. Source: https://synspective.com/press-release/2024/listed_tse/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/warpspace warpspace/2024-11/Closes a Series B through alliances with Udom and Kohoku Kogyo Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:00:00 GMT Closes a Series B through alliances with Udom and Kohoku Kogyo. Source: https://warpspace.jp/posts-en/Nzz3_iTp https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/iqps iqps/2024-08/QPS-SAR-8 reaches orbit on Transporter-11 and makes contact two hours after liftoff Thu, 01 Aug 2024 12:00:00 GMT QPS-SAR-8 reaches orbit on Transporter-11 and makes contact two hours after liftoff. Source: https://i-qps.net/en/news/2190/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/astroscale astroscale/2024-06-05/Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market Wed, 05 Jun 2024 12:00:00 GMT Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market. Source: https://www.astroscale.com/en/news/astroscale-listed-on-the-tokyo-stock-exchange-growth-market https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2024-03-28/Raises $53.5 million in an overseas share sale Thu, 28 Mar 2024 12:00:00 GMT Raises $53.5 million in an overseas share sale. Source: https://spacenews.com/japanese-lunar-lander-company-ispace-raises-53-5-million-in-stock-sale/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/space-one space-one/2024-03-13/Kairos flight 1 destroyed by its flight termination system five seconds after liftoff Wed, 13 Mar 2024 12:00:00 GMT Kairos flight 1 destroyed by its flight termination system five seconds after liftoff. Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/13/canon-electronics-leads-plunge-among-space-one-consortium-after-failed-launch.html https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/astroscale astroscale/2024-02/ADRAS-J launches on Electron to inspect a discarded H-2A upper stage, the first commercial rendezvous with unprepared debris Thu, 01 Feb 2024 12:00:00 GMT ADRAS-J launches on Electron to inspect a discarded H-2A upper stage, the first commercial rendezvous with unprepared debris. Source: https://spacenews.com/electron-launches-astroscale-inspection-satellite/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/astroscale astroscale/2024-01/ELSA-d completes its de-orbit operations, closing the debris-removal demonstration Mon, 01 Jan 2024 12:00:00 GMT ELSA-d completes its de-orbit operations, closing the debris-removal demonstration. Source: https://www.astroscale.com/en/news/astroscales-elsa-d-finalizes-de-orbit-operations-marking-successful-mission-conclusion https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/iqps iqps/2024-01/Releases first-light images from QPS-SAR-5 after a month of on-orbit calibration Mon, 01 Jan 2024 12:00:00 GMT Releases first-light images from QPS-SAR-5 after a month of on-orbit calibration. Source: https://i-qps.net/en/news/1756/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/orbital-lasers orbital-lasers/2024-01/Carved out of SKY Perfect JSAT to commercialise laser debris removal and satellite LiDAR Mon, 01 Jan 2024 12:00:00 GMT Carved out of SKY Perfect JSAT to commercialise laser debris removal and satellite LiDAR. Source: https://www.satellitetoday.com/space-economy/2024/01/31/sky-perfect-jsat-forms-new-space-laser-business/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/iqps iqps/2023-12/Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market under code 5595 Fri, 01 Dec 2023 12:00:00 GMT Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market under code 5595. Source: https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/ISPACE-INC-152054167/news/Japanese-satellite-imagery-startup-iQPS-untraded-with-glut-of-bids-in-Tokyo-debut-45507644/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/warpspace warpspace/2023-05/Wins two JAXA studies on Moon-to-Earth and long-distance optical communications Mon, 01 May 2023 12:00:00 GMT Wins two JAXA studies on Moon-to-Earth and long-distance optical communications. Source: https://satnews.com/2023/05/16/warpspace-wins-jaxa-contracts-for-lunar-and-long-distance-optical-comms-studies/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2023-04-25/Mission 1 crashes after software rejects the altimeter reading Tue, 25 Apr 2023 12:00:00 GMT Mission 1 crashes after software rejects the altimeter reading. Source: https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/japanese-lunar-lander-hakuto-r-m1-failed-due-to-software-error/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2023-04-12/Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market Wed, 12 Apr 2023 12:00:00 GMT Lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market. Source: https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/13/ispace-tokyo-stock-exchange/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/elevationspace elevationspace/2023-04/Signs a co-creation project with JAXA for high-frequency reentry and recovery from LEO Sat, 01 Apr 2023 12:00:00 GMT Signs a co-creation project with JAXA for high-frequency reentry and recovery from LEO. Source: https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2023/04/20230427-1_e.html https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/pale-blue pale-blue/2023-03-03/Water-based thruster fires in orbit for the first time, aboard Sony’s EYE satellite Fri, 03 Mar 2023 12:00:00 GMT Water-based thruster fires in orbit for the first time, aboard Sony’s EYE satellite. Source: https://pale-blue.co.jp/news/314/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/ispace ispace/2022-12-11/HAKUTO-R Mission 1 launches to the Moon on a Falcon 9 Sun, 11 Dec 2022 12:00:00 GMT HAKUTO-R Mission 1 launches to the Moon on a Falcon 9. Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/11/japans-ispace-launches-historic-first-commercial-moon-lander https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/astroscale astroscale/2021-08/ELSA-d demonstrates the first commercial magnetic capture of an object in orbit Sun, 01 Aug 2021 12:00:00 GMT ELSA-d demonstrates the first commercial magnetic capture of an object in orbit. Source: https://www.astroscale.com/en/news/astroscales-elsa-d-successfully-demonstrates-repeated-magnetic-capture https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/axelspace axelspace/2021-03/Four GRUS satellites reach orbit from Baikonur, growing the AxelGlobe constellation to five Mon, 01 Mar 2021 12:00:00 GMT Four GRUS satellites reach orbit from Baikonur, growing the AxelGlobe constellation to five. Source: https://news.satnews.com/2021/03/31/four-axelspace-grus-to-launch-at-baikonur-in-march/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/letara letara/2021/Wins the Asia-Oceania prize at the S-Booster 2021 space business contest Fri, 01 Jan 2021 12:00:00 GMT Wins the Asia-Oceania prize at the S-Booster 2021 space business contest. Source: https://www.letaranext.com/company https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/synspective synspective/2020-12/StriX-α, the first StriX radar satellite, reaches orbit on a Rocket Lab Electron Tue, 01 Dec 2020 12:00:00 GMT StriX-α, the first StriX radar satellite, reaches orbit on a Rocket Lab Electron. Source: https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/synspective https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/space-bd space-bd/2019-12-09/JAXA names Space BD an H-IIA and H3 rideshare provider Mon, 09 Dec 2019 12:00:00 GMT JAXA names Space BD an H-IIA and H3 rideshare provider. Source: https://smartsatcrc.com/space-bd-selected-as-the-official-satellite-launch-service-provider-by-jaxa-for-the-rideshare-opportunity-of-japans-flagship-launcher-h-iia-h3/ https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/interstellar-technologies interstellar-technologies/2019-05/MOMO-3 becomes the first privately developed Japanese rocket to reach space Wed, 01 May 2019 12:00:00 GMT MOMO-3 becomes the first privately developed Japanese rocket to reach space. Source: https://gizmodo.com/interstellar-technology-becomes-first-private-japanese-1834537993 https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/space-one space-one/2018-07/Founded by Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace, Shimizu and DBJ to launch small solid rockets Sun, 01 Jul 2018 12:00:00 GMT Founded by Canon Electronics, IHI Aerospace, Shimizu and DBJ to launch small solid rockets. Source: https://www.shimz.co.jp/en/company/about/news-release/2018/2018014.html https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/space-bd space-bd/2018-05-29/JAXA picks Space BD to run CubeSat deployment from Kibo Tue, 29 May 2018 12:00:00 GMT JAXA picks Space BD to run CubeSat deployment from Kibo. Source: https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2018/05/20180529_microsat.html https://www.spacebandits.io/startups/axelspace axelspace/2013-11/WNISAT-1, a 10 kg Arctic-monitoring microsatellite for Weathernews, reaches orbit Fri, 01 Nov 2013 12:00:00 GMT WNISAT-1, a 10 kg Arctic-monitoring microsatellite for Weathernews, reaches orbit. Source: https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/wnisat-1