Japanese rocket company
42°28′30″N
143°22′35″E
/
42.47500°N 143.37639°E
/
42.47500; 143.37639
Interstellar Technologies, Inc.
(
Japanese
:
インタ?ステラテクノロジズ(株)
,
Hepburn
:
Int?sutera Tekunorojizu (kabu)
)
, or
IST
, is a Japanese
private spaceflight
company aiming to eventually build a
launch vehicle
for
smallsats
under 100 kg. It is a rocket spacelaunch company
developing
the
MOMO
[
ja
]
(also
Momo
, etc.)
sounding rocket
and the
ZERO
[
ja
;
fr
]
orbital launch vehicle. Interstellar's stated goal is to reduce the cost of access to space.
[1]
In 2017, it became the first Japanese company to launch a
privately developed
space rocket, though the launch was unsuccessful. A subsequent test in 2019 was successful at taking a 20 kg payload on a
suborbital
trajectory
to the edge of
space
. As of 2017
[update]
, the company planned to develop a rocket by 2020 that would be capable of launching small satellites into
orbit
.
[2]
As of 2018, the president is
Takahiro Inagawa
.
[3]
As of June 2018, the company had raised about ¥30 million (about
US$250,000
) in crowdfunding.
[4]
History
[
edit
]
The group that became Interstellar Technologies was created as a hobbyist organization in 1997.
[5]
Interstellar Technologies predecessor company was established in 2003 by
Takafumi Horie
, who previously founded the ISP
Livedoor
. It was established to develop rockets to launch small satellites. It became Interstellar Technologies in 2005 (some sources name the year 2013 as the founding year of Interstellar Technologies
[6]
). Interstellar plans to lower the cost of access to space,
[1]
[3]
[7]
and is attempting to have the first privately developed rocket in Japan to reach space.
[4]
In March 2018, Interstellar entered into a business alliance with Nippon Travel Agency and Space Development Corp.
[8]
In May 2018, Interstellar received an investment of ¥19.8 million from Kushiro Manufacturing.
[8]
Rockets
[
edit
]
MOMO sounding rocket
[
edit
]
The initial rocket the company is
developing
is the MOMO
sounding rocket
:
- First launch: 30 July 2017 (failure)
- First successful launch: 3 May 2019 (UTC)
- Launch attempts: 7 (3 successful)
- Height: 10 m (33 ft)
[1]
[3]
[4]
- Diameter: 50 cm (20 in)
[4]
- Mass: 1 tonne (0.98 long tons; 1.1 short tons)
[4]
- Apogee: 100 km (62 mi), capable of reaching the
Karman line
or the boundary of space.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
- Payload to
Karman line
: 20 kg (44 lb)
[9]
- Engine: Custom Helium
Pressure-fed engine
with 12 kilonewtons of thrust
[10]
- Propellants: Ethanol with Liquid Oxygen (
LOX
)
- Attitude control:
Gimballed thrust
for steering,
cold gas thrusters
for
roll
control
[11]
- Cost: ¥50 million (~$440 thousand)
[2]
MOMO v1
[
edit
]
In response to the problems encountered in the engine nozzle and ignitor during the fifth launch and in the first attempt of the sixth launch (June and July 2020 respectively) Interstellar Technology began development of a full system upgrade.
[12]
During a video conference on June 1, 2021 they announced the end of the upgrading process that focused on engine system, airframe equipment, avionics, and ground support equipment
[13]
resulting in new nozzles, new ignitors, an increase in dry mass by 40 kg, in propellant mass by 30 kg, in length by 0.2 m and in thrust by 2 kN.
[14]
Due to the heavy modifications performed the company started referring to the previous version of the rocket as MOMO v0, while the upgraded one is now being called
MOMO v1
.
[13]
MOMO flight testing
[
edit
]
The
flight test
program began in mid-2017:
ZERO orbital rocket
[
edit
]
The ZERO launch vehicle is aimed at
orbital
launches of
smallsats
.
[28]
Launch site
[
edit
]
The launch site of IST resides next to the
Taiki Aerospace Research Field
, an aerodrome of the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
, located within the Taiki Multi-Purpose Aerospace Park in
Taiki, Hokkaido
, Japan.
[31]
[3]
Launch Complex-0 (LC-0) is the launch site for MOMO and the static engine test facility for MOMO and ZERO.
[31]
Launch Complex-1 (LC-1) is a new launch pad for ZERO and is planned to be available in FY2023.
[31]
[32]
LC-1 will include a Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and development and test facilities.
[31]
LC-1 will be equipped with an exhaust duct to reduce noise from the engine jet and minimize damage to the satellite from vibration.
[31]
Launch Complex-2 (LC-2) is another launch pad designed for more frequent launches of ZERO and is planned to be available in FY2025.
[32]
LC-2 will include a Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) capable of preparing multiple launch vehicles simultaneously.
[31]
In April 2021, a plan to expand the park into a private sector
spaceport
,
Hokkaido Spaceport
[
ja
]
, was announced.
[32]
The current 1000-meter runway is planned to be extended to 1300 meters, and building a new 3000-meter runway is also considered.
[32]
[33]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Darrell Etherington (31 July 2017).
"Japan's potential SpaceX competitor achieves mixed results in first launch"
. Tech Crunch.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Naomi Schanen (30 July 2017).
"Japan Attempts First Rocket Launch to Join SpaceX"
. Bloomberg.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Global News (30 June 2018).
"Rocket fails, explodes seconds after launch for Japanese startup"
. Global TV (Canada). The Canadian Press (CP).
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Interstellar Technology's second rocket crashes seconds after liftoff in Hokkaido"
.
Japan Times
. 30 June 2018.
- ^
Eric Berger
(26 July 2017).
"Japanese company preparing for country's first private rocket launch"
.
Ars Technica
.
- ^
"Privately launched Momo-4 rocket fails after liftoff, crashes into sea off Hokkaido"
.
The Japan Times
. July 27, 2019.
- ^
a
b
SHOTARO HAMADA (30 June 2018).
"Privately backed Japanese rocket a fireball soon after launch"
.
Asahi Shimbun
. Archived from
the original
on 1 July 2018
. Retrieved
1 July
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Warwick, Graham (July 3, 2018).
"Second Setback For Japanese Rocket Startup"
.
Aviation Week
.
- ^
"MOMO"
.
Interstellar Technologies Inc
. Retrieved
7 July
2018
.
- ^
"User Guide of Sounding Rocket MOMO ver 0.2"
(PDF)
. Interstellar Technologies Inc. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2020-06-05
. Retrieved
2020-04-23
.
- ^
Krebs, Gunter Dirk.
"Momo"
.
Gunter's Space Page
. Retrieved
2024-06-19
.
- ^
a
b
"Interstellar Technologies To Launch their Coming Sounding Rocket "Rocket of NEJI" on July 3"
(Press release). Interstellar Technologies. 1 July 2021
. Retrieved
3 July
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"[Press Release] Completely improved "Screw Rocket"
"
(Press release). Interstellar Technologies. 1 June 2021. Archived from
the original
on 1 June 2021
. Retrieved
3 July
2021
.
- ^
2021年6月1日(火)13時? ねじのロケット開??況に?する?見
[
June 1, 2021 (Tuesday) 13: 00-Interview on the development status of screw rockets
] (in Japanese). Interstellar Technologies. 1 June 2021
. Retrieved
3 July
2021
.
- ^
"Rocket launched by start-up firm reaches outer space for first time"
.
Japan Times
. 4 May 2019.
- ^
Inagawa, Takahiro (7 May 2019).
"Interstellar Technologies Inc. press Release on MOMO F3"
(PDF)
.
Interstellar Technologies
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 6 May 2019
. Retrieved
7 May
2019
.
- ^
"【その他(お知らせ)】「MOMO3?機」の打上げ??日時が決定!?援?容のおさらいも!"
(in Japanese).
Crypton Future Media
. April 23, 2019
. Retrieved
October 16,
2019
.
- ^
"Privately launched Momo-4 rocket fails after liftoff, crashes into sea off Hokkaido"
. 27 July 2019.
- ^
"Interstellar Technologies' privately developed MOMO-5 rocket falls short of reaching space"
. 13 June 2020.
- ^
June 2020, Tariq Malik 14 (14 June 2020).
"Japan's Interstellar Technologies fails to reach space with private rocket launch"
.
Space.com
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
インタ?ステラテクノロジズ/なつのロケット? [@natsuroke] (3 July 2021).
"\速報/ねじのロケットの打上げは正常に?施されました"
[\ Breaking news / The launch of the Screw Rocket was successful] (
Tweet
) (in Japanese) – via
Twitter
.
- ^
Matsumura, Takehiro (3 July 2021).
"IST「ねじのロケット」打ち上げ?施、2019年以?2度目の宇宙空間到達に成功!"
[IST launches "Screw Rocket", succeeds in reaching outer space for the second time since 2019!].
sorae
(in Japanese)
. Retrieved
3 July
2021
.
- ^
"?測ロケットMOMO「ねじのロケット」打ち上げ成功! 花キュ?ピットは宇宙までお花をお?けしました"
[MOMO sounding rocket "Screw Rocket" launched successfully! Hana-Cupid has delivered flowers to space].
PR TIMES
(in Japanese). 3 July 2021
. Retrieved
3 July
2021
.
- ^
Jones, Caleb.
"MOMO | Flight 7"
.
Space Launch Now
. Retrieved
2021-07-25
.
- ^
a
b
"【プレスリリ?ス】「TENGAロケット」打上げを2021年7月31日(土)に?施"
.
インタ?ステラテクノロジズ株式?社 ? Interstellar Technologies Inc.
(in Japanese). Archived from
the original
on 2021-08-05
. Retrieved
2021-07-31
.
- ^
Jones, Caleb.
"MOMO | Flight 6"
.
Space Launch Now
. Retrieved
2021-07-25
.
- ^
a
b
"Interstellar Technologies to launch TENGA Rocket on July 31 2021"
(PDF)
.
インタ?ステラテクノロジズ株式?社 ? Interstellar Technologies Inc
. Retrieved
2021-07-31
.
- ^
"ZERO"
.
Interstellar Technologies
. Retrieved
7 December
2023
.
- ^
Werner, Debra (9 August 2023).
"Japan's Interstellar aims for orbital launch in 2025"
.
SpaceNews
. Retrieved
7 December
2023
.
- ^
"IST Succeeds in Static Fire Test for Small Satellite Launch Vehicle ZERO"
.
Interstellar Technologies
(Press release). 7 December 2023
. Retrieved
7 December
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Launch Complex"
.
Interstellar Technologies Inc
. Retrieved
2023-12-23
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
目指すは“宇宙版シリコンバレ?”、アジア初の宇宙港を北海道で?現せよ
(in Japanese). MONOist. 23 April 2021
. Retrieved
25 April
2021
.
- ^
「北海道スペ?スポ?ト」が本格始動へ、新たに運??社SPACE COTANが設立
(in Japanese). Mynavi. 23 April 2021
. Retrieved
28 April
2021
.
External links
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]
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- This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future
- Symbol
†
indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)
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Space agencies
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Private sector
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- ‡ Based around licence-produced US rockets; ¤ Never flew an orbital flight (only 1 suborbital flight performed)
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