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Pale Blue is the first company in the world to operate a water-based ion engine in space.
In January 2025, Pale Blue signed a contract with D-Orbit in Italy to demonstrate the capabilities of the 'PBI' engine.
Pale Blue successfully demonstrated the operation of its water ion engine 'PBI' in orbit on September 10, 2025.
Pale Blue Inc. completed a Series B funding round of approximately 2,500,000,000 JPY (approx. $16,000,000).
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 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.
Pale Blue will use the Series B funding to establish a development base for production technologies.
Several customers have flown satellites equipped with Pale Blue’s Resistojet thrusters since March 2023.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pale Blue raised $7,500,000 in October in loans and the first phase of Series B venture financing.
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.