ispace is a Japanese lunar exploration company that aims to provide low-cost and frequent transportation services to the Moon. They specialize in designing and building lunar landers and rovers for payload delivery and data collection. ispace has partnerships with organizations like JAXA and ESA, and their customers include government space agencies, research institutions, and private companies. The company's vision is to expand human presence beyond Earth by enabling the utilization of lunar resources.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
The Japanese government established a billion-dollar fund in 2018 to support space startups, including initiatives led by ispace.
ispace has initiated a new subsidiary in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
iSpace built hardware for Hyperbola-3 that includes the aft end of a second-stage, propellant tanks, grid fins, and the Qinglan drone ship.
iSpace tested a transporter-erector at the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site ahead of Hyperbola-3’s debut flight in 2026.
iSpace plans to have the maiden flight of the Hyper Polar-3 rocket in 2025.
iSpace conducted sixteen shock tests of a Hyperbola-3 landing leg on December 29, 2025 that simulated landing on a drone ship at sea.
iSpace collected the expected data from the sixteen shock tests and proceeded to produce four landing legs for Hyperbola-3’s first flight.
iSpace has completed the landing leg test for Hyperbola-3.
iSpace has completed the landing leg test for Hyperbola-3.
ispace concluded a contract with JAXA for the optimization study of a lunar landing propulsion system using electric pumps on December 23.
ispace and JAXA plan to apply an 'electric pump system' to the lunar lander's propellant supply system to optimize weight reduction while minimizing increased power usage during flight.
ispace stated that the contract expands the applicability of the electric pump technology researched by JAXA, contributing to maximizing achievements in Japan's space development.
iSpace and Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co Ltd held a joint rehearsal for the operations with the transporter-erector of Hyperbola-3 between December 18th and 19th.
iSpace is testing hardware for its partially reusable Hyperbola-3 launch vehicle in December 2025.
iSpace launched a drone ship for recovering Hyperbola-3 first-stage boosters earlier in 2025, and sea trials are believed to be underway.
iSpace has previously performed technical verifications of Hyperbola-3's transporter-erector using a pathfinder of the launch vehicle.
iSpace has not provided a possible launch date for Hyperbola-3 after missing its planned debut in December 2025.
On December 5th, iSpace tested a single 3D-printed metal first-stage grid fin in two separate tests.
iSpace plans to install plumbing for loading the Hyperbola-3 with propellant by late January or early February 2026.