In Fukushima Prefecture's Minamisoma, a city hit hard by tsunami in 2011, a local startup aims to launch a rocket from an air balloon in fiscal 2025, which begins next April.
"We will move forward together with local people," Shobu Oda, CEO of the Japanese startup, AstroX, said after the company successfully conducted a ground test with a small rocket in November.
Oda, who previously had no connection to Minamisoma, founded the company in 2022, choosing the city because its east side faces the sea, which is suitable for launching rockets, and planes and ships pass nearby less frequently.
He was also attracted by the generous public support, including subsidies for reconstruction from the 2011 disaster.
In collaboration with the Chiba Institute of Technology in the city of Narashino near Tokyo, AstroX is working on the development of a small rocket that will be launched from a balloon about 20 kilometers above the ground.
The so-called rockoon method has its advantages, such as being less affected by weather conditions and requiring less energy than launching from the ground due to less air resistance, according to AstroX.
Since the method does not require large-scale ground facilities, the cost can be reduced to one-third of that on the ground, according to the company.
AstroX is collaborating with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to develop a device to stabilize the altitude of a rocket suspended from a balloon, a major challenge for the rockoon method to tackle.
The company's goal is to get a rocket to reach an altitude of 100 kilometers — which is regarded as where outer space begins — in fiscal 2025 and put a small satellite into orbit in fiscal 2028.
During the Nov. 9 ground test on the coast of Minamisoma, a small rocket 6.3 meters long and weighing 162 kilograms was successfully launched. It reached an altitude of about 7 kilometers before landing in waters off of Fukushima.
"We were able to take a step forward thanks to the support of many people," Oda said. "We want to continue development in Minamisoma."
About 400 people gathered at the site to view the test. A man from the Fukushima city of Nihonmatsu said, "I hope this will be an opportunity for space development to become popular throughout the region."
"I want to support companies that are working in disaster-stricken areas," said Sachie Sato, who was from Yamamoto, a town in the neighboring prefecture of Miyagi that was also damaged in the tsunami.
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