Business Domain
Transportation / Rocket Components
Company Profile
- Developing the world’s first Rockoon system to lift rockets via balloon and deliver sub-100kg satellites to orbit.
-
Founded in May 2022.
-
Diverse 20-member team, including former JAXA and top automotive engineers.
Core Business
- AstroX is developing “Rockoon,” a unique air-launch system using a high-altitude balloon to lift rockets to ~20 km before ignition. This reduces fuel costs and allows flexible, frequent small satellite launches without fixed launch sites. We aim for orbital service by 2029 and over 50 launches/year in the 2030s.
Potential Collaboration Areas
- In collaboration with satellite manufacturers, we see potential not only in meeting launch demand but also in areas such as satellite bus development, stratospheric demonstration testing, and data integration.
Core Competence
- AstroX’s core team includes CTO Prof. Yutaka Wada, who led Japan’s first offshore rocket launch, and Takashi Maemura, launch director for H-IIA. With hybrid private-sector talent, they’re building space infrastructure from Minamisoma, driving innovation from a city once devastated by disaster.
