TOKYO – A Japanese space startup said Thursday it will postpone the launch of its third lunar lander by a year to 2026 to make design modifications for safer payload transportation and account for procurement delays.   Tokyo-based ispace Inc.’s APEX 1.0 lander, designed to carry payloads of up to 300 kilograms, has been contracted to deliver approximately 95 kg….Read more

Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force says its space-related unit will set up a new office in a high-rise building in central Tokyo to exchange opinions with private sector companies.   ASDF officials say their “space cooperation” office will be set up on October 2 in a co-working space at Toranomon Hills Business Tower in Tokyo’s Minato Ward.   The officials say….Read more

Nikkei reported that Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, and Kanematsu Corp. have invested $290 million in Sierra Space, a U.S. space startup, to help it accelerate its initiative to use Oita Airport as a platform for accommodating spacecraft. According to the article, the U.S. company previously forged a separate partnership with Mitsubishi Heavy Industry and JAL….Read more

Mainichi and Yomiuri reported that Defense Minister Kihara met with visiting Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Chief of Space Operations of the U.S. Space Force, at the Ministry of Defense on Monday. The paper said the two officials agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the space domain. Meanwhile, Asahi reported that Gen. Saltzman said in an interview with several media outlets….Read more

By MICHINORI ISHIDAIRA/ Staff Writer   Like a scene from a science fiction drama, elementary school students produced screws at specialized super-precision parts maker Katsuragawa Seira Co. in Tokyo’s Ota Ward.   But these were no ordinary screws, explained Shinichiro Nakajima, 57, CEO of space startup Dymon Co.   “You students today made lunar screws for space use,” said Nakajima. “Your productions….Read more

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started in February 2022, is sometimes described as an all-out war in the digital era, having a mix of old and new aspects of warfare. One of the latter is the Starlink satellite internet service used by the Ukrainian forces as telecommunication infrastructure. The service, a type of satellite constellation — a group of artificial satellites….Read more

RYOSUKE MATSUZOE, Nikkei staff writer   TOKYO — The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries plan to develop a methane-fueled engine for a next-generation rocket whose first flight is slated for around 2030.   Methane, the main ingredient in gas distributed to households in Japan, is easier to handle and is less prone to explosions than hydrogen….Read more

OSAKA — A Japanese chemical manufacturing company has been working on creating liquid biomethane from cow waste to be used as rocket fuel, potentially providing a solution for dairy farmers grappling with disposal challenges.   Air Water Inc. said it would begin conducting trials in the fall, with the fuel to be loaded on a rocket created by space startup firm Interstellar Technologies….Read more

On September 7, Japan’s mainstay large H2A rocket (Number 47) was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center. It carried aloft the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, small-scale lunar explorer, Japan’s first such lunar lander. Also onboard was the XRISM X-ray astronomical satellite. They entered their intended orbits without incident.   Although this was the 41st consecutive successful launch….Read more