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 is a space technology company spun out from the University of Tokyo in 2020.
The SBIR-3 grant awarded to Pale Blue is worth up to $27,000,000 (JPY 4 billion).
The first phase of Pale Blue’s SBIR-3 grant totals $8,700,000 (JPY 1.3 billion).
Pale Blue will develop a water-based hall-effect thruster targeting 100 to 500 kg class satellites.
Pale Blue will develop a water-based miniaturized ion thruster targeting 10 to 100 kg class satellites.
The SBIR-3 grant to Pale Blue will enable development and demonstration of a miniaturized, water-based ion thruster and a water-based hall-effect thruster by fiscal 2027.
Pale Blue Inc. has been awarded a grant by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under the SBIR-3 program to develop and demonstrate key technology for space debris mitigation.
Under a multiphase Japanese government grant announced 2024-02-06, Pale Blue aims to develop water-plasma propulsion for spacecraft up to 500 kg.
Pale Blue started work on setting up a 2,000-square-meter factory to produce Resistojet thrusters sized for satellites weighing less than 10 kg.
Pale Blue’s steam-based PBR-10 and PBR-20 thrusters were demonstrated in orbit in March 2023.
Pale Blue tested its Resistojet thruster in orbit for the first time in March 2023 using jets of steam to move a 6U cubesat called Star Sphere.
Pale Blue announced $7,500,000 in funding in October to start producing Resistojet thrusters at scale for customers that include Yonsei University.
Japan awarded Tokyo-based small satellite thruster developer Pale Blue a grant worth up to $27,000,000 to upgrade its water-based propulsion technology for larger spacecraft.
Pale Blue signed an individual contract with TOKYO KEIKI to collaborate on propulsion system development.
Pale Blue Inc. signed a contract with TOKYO KEIKI INC. to manufacture and assemble hardware subsystems of its prototype mass-production propulsion system.
A second close of Pale Blue’s Series B round is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2023.
The total amount raised by Pale Blue together with recent bank loans is approximately USD 7.5 million (JPY 1 billion).
Pale Blue achieved successful in-orbit operation of its water-based propulsion system in March 2023.
Pale Blue was selected by NEDO for the DMP phase of its 2022-10-01 1st DTSU program to work on a grant program titled "Establishment of Mass Production Technology for Satellite Propulsion System Using Water as Propellant."
Pale Blue is developing an Ion Hall-effect thruster that it expects to reach orbit for the first time by 2025.