Varda Space Industries, Inc. today announced the successful launch of its second orbital processing and reentry capsule, W-2, which lifted off aboard the Transporter-12 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The W-2 capsule carries payloads from Varda partners, including a spectrometer from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and employs a heatshield with a Thermal Protection System (TPS) developed in collaboration with NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. These payloads are in addition to Varda's expanded pharmaceutical reactor.

AFRL leads the discovery, development, and delivery of novel aerospace technologies, and Varda is honored to fly AFRL's Optical Sensing of Plasmas in the Reentry Environment (OSPREE) payload on W-2. OSPREE is an optical emission spectroscopy system designed to record spectral measurements of the dynamic reentry plasma environment. The sensor will yield the first in situ optical emission measurements of the reentry environment past Mach 15 in history. OSPREE is the first DoD payload experiment to be flown on Varda's hypersonic testbed, which offers true reentry flight heritage for materials and sensors in excess of Mach 25.

High-hypersonic flow conditions are impossible to replicate on the ground, and flight testing is the only way to advance our understanding of the unique aerothermal chemistry experienced by spacecraft on their way back to Earth. Additionally, most test vehicles are not recoverable and are often limited to lower hypersonic conditions that do not provide a complete picture of the environment with adequate heat loads, pressures, and plasma formation.

The Prometheus program, a partnership between Varda and AFRL, addresses a national security need to accelerate the ability to test and modernize high-hypersonic systems and reentry technologies through a low-cost, high cadence flight testbed. AFRL recently awarded Varda a flight services Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract to fund and access flights through 2028.

"By partnering with the commercial space industry, AFRL can provide the Government S&T community with a novel, low-cost approach to iterative development. Prometheus fills a longstanding experimentation gap for the maturation of future reentry system technologies," said Dr. Erin Vaughan, AFRL Prometheus Lead.

"Varda is proud to leverage its flight-proven commercial reentry capability as a hypersonic testbed, which we hope will be a reliable foundation for advancing the hypersonic sector. Deepening our understanding of the reentry environment accelerates defense capabilities while also advancing commercial space," said Varda CEO Will Bruey. "As we grow the orbital economy, reentry will be as common as launch. Varda's first hypersonic testbed mission, through our key partnership with AFRL, is in service of that goal."

The W-2 capsule will orbit via a Rocket Lab Pioneer satellite bus and will reenter at Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, operated by Southern Launch.

About Varda

Varda Space Industries is making reentry as common as launch. We are building the infrastructure needed to make low Earth orbit accessible, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space.

Source: Varda Space Industries

TOKYO –January 9, 2025 – ispace, inc. (ispace) )(TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, announced today that its SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon Mission 2 featuring the RESILIENCE lunar lander and TENACIOUS micro rover is scheduled to launch on Jan. 15, 2025, at 06:11 UTC.

“The RESILIENCE lander and TENACIOUS rover are being loaded onto the Falcon 9 rocket, and we are getting ready for launch,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace. “Together, we will open the door to success, hand in hand with our dedicated employees, their supportive families, our shareholders who continue to believe in ispace’s vision, our HAKUTO-R partners, government stakeholders, customers, and many others. I firmly believe this marks the beginning of a new chapter for our company.” To highlight the second mission, ispace and Citizen Watch, a corporate partner of ispace, also unveiled a countdown clock that will be displayed in public areas around Tokyo. The clock will display the time until the launch occurs from Florida, which will be viewed via a livestream hosted by ispace.

On board the RESILIENCE lunar lander will be commercial customer payloads including:

• Water electrolyzer equipment: From Takasago Thermal Engineering Co.
• Food production experiment: A self-contained module from Euglena Co.
• Deep space radiation probe: Developed by the Department of Space Science and Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan
• Commemorative alloy plate: Developed by Bandai Namco Research Institute, Inc. and modeled after “Charter of the Universal Century” from the animation Mobile Suit Gundam UC
• TENACIOUS micro rover: Developed by ispace-EUROPE, this rover will explore the landing site, collect lunar regolith, and relay data back to the lander. It will be equipped with a forward-mounted HD camera and a shovel.
• Moonhouse: A model house by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg that will be mounted on the rover.

Mission 2 Milestones

ispace has released a transparent set of criteria known as Mission 2 Milestones between launch and landing and aims to achieve the success criteria established for each of these milestones. The results from this mission as part of the HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program, will be weighed and evaluated against the criteria and lessons learned will be incorporated into future missions already in development.

About ispace, inc.

ispace, a global lunar resource development company with the vision, “Expand our planet. Expand our future.”, specializes in designing and building lunar landers and rovers. ispace aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon. The company has business entities in Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States with more than 300 employees worldwide.

Source: ispace

Hokkaido, Japan – Interstellar Technologies Inc. (“Interstellar”), a leading space infrastructure company committed to addressing global challenges through space transportation and utilization, is excited to announce a strategic capital and business alliance with Woven by Toyota, Inc. (“Woven by Toyota) ”, a Toyota Group company that is pioneering the transformation of mobility. As the lead investor, Woven by Toyota will contribute approximately ¥7 billion JPY ($44.3 million USD; 1 USD=JPY ¥158) by the first close of Series F. Additional funding will be also expected in the second close of Series F. Furthermore, Woven by Toyota will provide a director to strengthen our corporate governance.

Incorporating Toyota’s Expertise to Transform Rocket Manufacturing into a High-Quality, Cost-Effective, and Scalable Process

The global demand for small satellite launches has surged nearly 20-fold, from 141 launches in 2016 to 2,860 in 2023 (*1), driven by the expansion of the private space business, the growing importance of national security, and the emergence of new applications such as satellite constellations. In 2023, the U.S. conducted 116 launches and China 63, significantly boosting their space transportation capabilities. In contrast, Japan conducted just three launches (*2), highlighting the need for growth in domestic launch capacity. The Japanese government has set a target to secure a domestic launch capacity of around 30 launches annually by the early 2030s, through both core and private rockets, to meet the growing demand for launches both domestically and internationally (*3). Achieving this will require a structural transformation of the domestic space industry, shifting from one-off production to scalable manufacturing with a robust supply chain. Interstellar aims to leverage automotive industry expertise, including Toyota’s production methods, to transition rocket manufacturing into a high-quality, cost-effective, and scalable process.

Strengthening Collaboration to Accelerate Rocket Mass Production

Since 2020, Interstellar has been collaborating with Toyota Motor Corporation through personnel exchanges, with a total of 11 employees being seconded from Toyota, including those from Toyota Motor Hokkaido, Inc. and Toyota Auto Body Co., Ltd.. This business alliance is the result of ongoing efforts to build a stronger alliance and focuses on key areas such as cost reduction, lead time shortening, and the establishment of a mass production system for rockets. Together, we will work on strengthening the supply chain and corporate governance, all with the goal of advancing rocket mass production.

Accelerating the Vertical Integration of Rocket and Satellite Communications Business

Interstellar is the first company in Japan to pursue a vertically integrated business model combining rockets and satellite communications. The satellite communications sector, which requires a high volume of launches, can reach its full potential when paired with a rocket company, as demonstrated by SpaceX in the U.S., which has grown to a market capitalization of $350 billion USD through its satellite-based internet service, “Starlink.” The satellite communications technology that Interstellar is developing enables direct connections with ground devices, such as smartphones, offering high-speed, high-capacity next-generation broadband communication. We are accelerating our efforts to become a comprehensive space infrastructure company. This will bring us closer to realizing our vision of ‘a future where everyone can access space.’

Statement from Mr. Hajime Kumabe, CEO of Woven by Toyota

Toyota continues its transformation into a mobility company by embracing challenges in land, sea, and air mobility. Now, we are excited to collaborate with Interstellar Technologies on the mass production of rockets. With a mission to realize a sustainable future for Earth through space exploration, and having previously engaged with Toyota Group talent, Interstellar Technologies is a company that is in close alignment with our own vision for the future of movement. This business alliance will leverage the Toyota Group’s extensive manufacturing capabilities and combine our expertise to advance rocket production and further drive mobility transformation.

Statement from Mr. Takahiro Inagawa, CEO of Interstellar Technologies

Since the start of our business in 2013, Interstellar Technologies has valued a hands-on approach to manufacturing and a spirit of trial and error. Woven by Toyota, a leader in driving mobility transformation within the Toyota Group, is the ideal partner to help us evolve our rocket production from one-of-a-kind manufacturing to a scalable supply chain, bringing our vision of ‘a future where everyone can access space’ to life. I am truly delighted that, after years of talent exchange since 2020, we are now able to strengthen our collaboration to the next level.

Woven by Toyota, Inc.

Woven by Toyota, a part of the Toyota Group, is challenging the current state of mobility through human-centric innovation and empowering mobility transformation. Through our AD/ADAS technology, our automotive software development platform Arene OS, our mobility test course Toyota Woven City, and Toyota’s growth fund, Woven Capital, we are pioneering the movement of people, goods, information, and energy, weaving a future of enhanced safety, connectivity and well-being for all.

Source: Interstellar Technologies Inc.

Helsinki, Finland - December 21, 2024 - ICEYE, the global leader in SAR satellite operations for Earth Observation and persistent monitoring, announced today that it has launched two new satellites to its constellation of SAR satellites. Both satellites expand the availability of ICEYE’s latest imaging technology to deliver additional 25 cm imaging capacity. The satellites were integrated via Exolaunch and launched as part of the Bandwagon-2 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. Both satellites have established communication, and early routine operations are underway. With today’s launch, ICEYE has successfully launched 40 satellites into orbit since 2018, with nine satellites launched in 2024 alone.

The new SAR satellites were launched into mid-inclination orbits; compared to a polar orbit, these mid-inclination orbits provide more than twice the collection opportunities at middle latitudes of the globe. ICEYE customers have many areas of interest in these middle latitudes (+/- 45 degrees), and these customers will benefit from increased persistence over these regions. Customers with imaging interests outside these middle latitudes will continue to benefit from the frequent revisit enabled by ICEYE’s dozens of satellites in polar orbits. ICEYE’s unique mix of mid-inclination and polar orbits provides its customers with deep revisit capabilities for targets all around the globe. The new satellites will serve ICEYE's commercial missions as part of the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation owned and operated by ICEYE.

Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE said: “This launch marks another significant milestone in ICEYE’s ability to provide our customers with a rich diversity of collection opportunities. We bolster our industry-leading SAR constellation and expand our customers’ collection opportunities in the areas most important to them.”

Today’s launch is another step forward in ICEYE’s steady drumbeat of innovative breakthroughs in Earth Observation. This year alone, ICEYE has, for example, introduced Dwell Precise, a new 25 cm imaging mode that offers its customers the highest-fidelity 25 cm imaging capability, and adds advanced capability to ICEYE's line of Dwell products; launched an API that allows customers to directly task its SAR satellite constellation; and launched ICEYE Ocean Vision to provide actionable intelligence for maritime domain awareness.

About ICEYE

ICEYE delivers unparalleled persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth, faster and more accurately than ever before. Owning the world's largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation, ICEYE provides objective, near real-time insights, ensuring that customers have unmatched access to actionable high-quality data, day or night, even in challenging environmental conditions. As a trusted partner to governments and commercial industries, ICEYE delivers intelligence in sectors such as insurance, natural catastrophe response and recovery, security, maritime monitoring, and finance, enabling decision-making that contributes to community resilience and sustainable development. ICEYE operates internationally with offices in Finland, Poland, Spain, the UK, Australia, Japan, UAE, Greece, and the US. We have more than 700 employees, inspired by the shared vision of improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation.

Source: ICEYE