By Kantaro Komiya
YOKOHAMA (Reuters) -A Tokyo-based rocket startup said on Wednesday it will test-launch a prototype in the United States in December using an American engine, aiming to achieve the first U.S.-Japan joint commercial launch and address Japan’s rocket shortage.
The global race for commercial launch vehicles has been driven by SpaceX, which on Tuesday conducted a ninth test for its fully-reusable Starship. U.S. rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable launcher plans.
But Japan lacks cost-competitive launchers at home, which the government sees as a bottleneck in its efforts to double the domestic space industry’s size to 8 trillion yen ($55.4 billion by the early 2030s.
Innovative Space Carrier (ISC) said its ASCA 1.0 reusable launcher will conduct a 100-metre (109-yard) flight and landing test in Spaceport America in New Mexico, using a Hadley rocket engine from U.S.-manufacturer Ursa Major.
Starting at a low altitude, ISC will repeat “ninja training-like” tests towards the goal of building an orbital launch vehicle by 2028 to cater to emerging Japanese satellite makers, ISC chief executive Kojiro Hatada told a press conference.
“Japan’s space industry needs its own space transportation services…but there’s no need to do everything ourselves to achieve it,” he said at partner JFE Engineering’s factory near Tokyo.
Founded in 2022 by former government official Hatada, ISC has signed partnerships including with the British 3D printer firm WAAM3D to fast-track the launcher development.
ISC has secured Japanese government’s rocket development subsidies along with Space One and Toyota-backed Interstellar Technologies. It aims to lower the per-launch cost of a rocket capable of lifting a 100kg (220.46 lb) satellite to space to 500 million yen in the long run, Hatada said.
Ursa Major’s Hadley engine has been used by U.S. company Stratolaunch for hypersonic vehicle tests and been granted a U.S. export control permit so that it can be equipped on an ISC rocket.
With ISC, “we look forward to continuing the partnership to further safe, cost-effective access to space,” Ursa Major Chief Growth Officer Ben Nicholson said in an emailed statement.
($1 = 144.3400 yen)
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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