When Harunori Nagata launched a 1.6-meter rocket for the third time in March, it was still an experiment.
But when the associate professor at Hokkaido University sets one off, it will likely be the first such commercial launch in Japan.
In October, Hokkaido Aerospace Science and Technology Incubation Center, a nonprofit organization set up in 2002 by local researchers, started offering to launch rockets designed by Nagata -- at a cost of 3.1 million yen, including 1 million yen for the launch and 2.1 million yen for the vehicle, excluding the rocket engine, which is not for sale because its technology is being kept secret.