By Hirofumi Yamanaka and Sapporo Bureau’s Shoko Kugai

Interstellar Technologies (IST), a private rocket developer based in the town of Taiki, Hokkaido, has decided to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) to fuel the next rocket and begun developing a special engine. The engine will be mounted on the ZERO, a rocket capable of launching into orbit satellites the company aims to launch in 2023. If IST succeeds, it will be the first LNG-fired rocket in Japan and give birth to a domestically developed rocket that is inexpensive and friendly to the environment. (Abridged)