Pale Blue Inc., founded in 2020 as a spin-off from the University of Tokyo, is a space-tech company that develops and manufactures water-based propulsion systems for small satellites, ranging from CubeSats to microsats. Their innovative and sustainable thrusters use water as a propellant, offering a safer and more accessible alternative to traditional chemical propellants, for in-space mobility, orbit control and debris mitigation. Pale Blue partners with satellite manufacturers and operators globally and has performed multiple in-orbit demonstrations of its technology. Key products include water ion thrusters and resistojet thrusters.
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Pale Blue was spun out from the University of Tokyo in 2020.
ITC Ventures, Inc. invested in Pale Blue and committed support for the company’s business expansion.
Including the amount raised during a first close announced in October 2023, the total amount raised in Pale Blue’s Series B funding round is approximately 2,500,000,000 JPY (approx. $16,000,000).
Pale Blue successfully used a Resistojet in orbit for the first time in March 2023 by using jets of steam to move a 6U cubesat.
Pale Blue raised $7,500,000 in October in loans and the first phase of Series B venture financing.
The enlarged Series B funding round will support creation of a 2,000-square-meter plant in the Ibaraki region near Tokyo to produce Pale Blue’s Resistojet thrusters.
Several customers have flown satellites equipped with Pale Blue’s Resistojet thrusters since March 2023.
Pale Blue aims to perform an in-orbit demonstration of its ion thruster next year and an in-orbit demonstration of its hall-effect thruster in 2027.
A recent multiphase Japanese government grant worth up to $27,000,000 is supporting Pale Blue’s development of water-based ion and hall-effect thrusters.
On 2024-06-04, Pale Blue raised an extra $8,500,000 in venture capital to mass-produce water vapor propulsion systems and upgrade the technology.
Pale Blue’s water-based propulsion systems achieved successful on-orbit operation in March 2023.
Pale Blue was awarded the Ibaraki Prefecture Corporate Location Promotion Subsidy expected to be around $1,000,000 (JPY 150 million).
Pale Blue was developed from the University of Tokyo in 2020.
Under the program, Pale Blue will develop a water-based miniaturized ion thruster targeting 10 to 100 kg class satellites.
Under the program, Pale Blue will develop a water-based Hall-effect thruster targeting 100 to 500 kg class satellites.
Pale Blue will develop and demonstrate a miniaturized water-based ion thruster by fiscal 2027.
Pale Blue was awarded a grant by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) under the SBIR-3 program to develop and demonstrate space debris mitigation technology.
Pale Blue will develop and demonstrate a water-based hall-effect thruster by fiscal 2027.
The first phase of Pale Blue’s SBIR-3 grant totals USD 8.7 million (JPY 1.3 billion).
The SBIR-3 grant to Pale Blue is worth up to USD 27 million (JPY 4 billion).