Interstellar Technologies
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, or IST, is a Japanese private spaceflight company aiming to eventually build a
launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...
for smallsats under 100 kg. It is a rocket spacelaunch company developing the (also Momo, etc.) sounding rocket and the orbital launch vehicles called and DECA. Interstellar's stated goal is to reduce the cost of access to space. Interstellar is attempting to have the first privately developed rocket in Japan to reach space.


History

The group that became Interstellar Technologies was created as a hobbyist organization in 1997. Interstellar Technologies predecessor company was established in 2003 by Takafumi Horie, who previously founded the ISP
Livedoor was a Japanese company that functioned as an Internet service provider and operator of a web portal and blog platform before being brought down by a scandal in 2006. The company was founded and led in its first 10 years by Takafumi Horie, known ...
. 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). 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 A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete tra ...
to the edge of
space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
. , the company planned to develop a rocket by 2020 that would be capable of launching small satellites into
orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...
. As of 2018, the president is Takahiro Inagawa. In March 2018, Interstellar entered into a business alliance with Nippon Travel Agency and Space Development Corp. In May 2018, Interstellar received an investment of ¥19.8 million from Kushiro Manufacturing. As of June 2018, the company had raised about ¥30 million (about ) in crowdfunding. In January 2025, Interstellar received a $44 million investment from Woven by Toyota.


Rockets


MOMO sounding rocket

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: * Diameter: * Mass: * Apogee: , capable of reaching the Karman line or the boundary of space. * Payload to Karman line: * Engine: Custom Helium Pressure-fed engine with 12 kilonewtons of thrust * Propellants: Ethanol with Liquid Oxygen ( LOX) * Attitude control:
Gimballed thrust Gimbaled thrust is the system of thrust vectoring used in most rockets, including the Space Shuttle program, Space Shuttle, the Saturn V lunar rockets, and the Falcon 9. Operation In a gimbaled thrust system, the engine or just the exhaust nozz ...
for steering,
cold gas thruster A cold gas thruster (or a cold gas propulsion system) is a type of rocket engine which uses the expansion of a (typically inert) pressurized gas to generate thrust. As opposed to traditional rocket engines, a cold gas thruster does not house any co ...
s for roll control * Cost: ¥50 million (~$440 thousand)


MOMO v1

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. 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 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. 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.


MOMO flight testing

The flight test program began in mid-2017:


ZERO orbital rocket

The ZERO launch vehicle is aimed at orbital launches of smallsats. * First launch: 2025 (planned) * Payload to
Sun-Synchronous Orbit A Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet's surface at the same local mean solar time. More technically, it is ...
: * Fuel: Liquid biomethane (LBM)


DECA orbital rocket

On 25 January 2023, IST announced plans to develop the DECA launch vehicle. DECA is a larger launch vehicle that can build small satellite constellations, launch large satellites into orbit, and transport cargo to the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
, thereby contributing to the expansion of Japan’s space transportation capabilities. DECA will also be responsible for launching the satellite constellation targeted by the satellite developer Our Stars, a wholly owned subsidiary of IST.


Launch site

The launch site of IST resides next to the Taiki Aerospace Research Field of the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency The is the Japanese national Aeronautics, air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satell ...
, located within the Taiki Multi-Purpose Aerospace Park, which is an aerodrome in Taiki, Hokkaido, Japan. Launch Complex-0 (LC-0) is the launch site for MOMO and the static engine test facility for MOMO and ZERO. Launch Complex-1 (LC-1) is a new launch pad for ZERO and is planned to be available in FY2023. LC-1 will include a Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and development and test facilities. LC-1 will be equipped with an exhaust duct to reduce noise from the engine jet and minimize damage to the satellite from vibration. Launch Complex-2 (LC-2) is another launch pad designed for more frequent launches of ZERO and is planned to be available in FY2025. LC-2 will include a Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) capable of preparing multiple launch vehicles simultaneously. In April 2021, a plan to expand the park into a private sector
spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport''—and even more so ''cosmodrome''—has traditionally referred to sites capable of ...
, , was announced. The current 1000-meter runway is planned to be extended to 1300 meters, and building a new 3000-meter runway is also considered.


See also

*
Blue Origin Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P. is an American space technology company headquartered in Kent, Washington. The company operates the suborbital New Shepard rocket and the heavy-lift New Glenn rocket. In addition to producing engines for its own ...
* PD AeroSpace, Japanese spaceplane developer *
Rocket Lab Rocket Lab Corporation is a Public company, publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and List of launch service providers, launch service provider. Its Rocket Lab Electron, Electron orbital rocket launches Small satellite, small satellites, and ha ...
*
SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...


References


External links

* Official website
インターステラテクノロジズ株式会社 - Interstellar Technologies Inc.
**
インターステラテクノロジズ株式会社 - Interstellar Technologies Inc.
* Interstellar Technologies {{Japanese launch systems Space program of Japan Commercial spaceflight Private spaceflight companies Technology companies established in 2005 Aerospace companies of Japan