Taiwanese Rocket Firm Tests Japan’s Space Hub Plans

A Taiwanese entrepreneur wants to launch a rocket from Japan by early next year, helping Tokyo become Asia’s space hub

In the context of Japan’s endeavor to double the size of its 4 trillion yen ($26 billion) space industry over the next decade, the planned suborbital launch by TiSpace has encountered regulatory hurdles and delays.

The private firm, co-founded in 2016 by current and former Taiwan’s space agency officials, has yet to achieve a successful launch. The most recent attempt to launch a rocket, conducted by its sibling company AtSpace in Australia in 2022, was unsuccessful due to an oxidizer leak. The rocket that will be tested in Japan is of a distinct design.

In an interview with Reuters, TiSpace chairman Yen-sen Chen stated, “This (planned launch) should be an extreme case for the Japanese government.” “If that goes smoothly, you will attract more customers from other countries.”

He stated that the organization is anticipating the receipt of its final regulatory sanction, a radio permit, which will permit the launch of its 12-meter (39 ft) sounding rocket by early 2025. A sounding rocket is capable of reaching space, but it is unable to attain orbit.

According to confident analysts, the launch of a Taiwanese rocket in Japan could attract the attention of China, which claims Taiwan as its own despite the strong objections of the government in Taipei and closely monitors the island’s progress in missile-related technologies. Chen stated that he had not received any concerns thus far.

According to China’s foreign ministry, It was ” unaware of the relevant circumstances” of the launch.

According to the Cabinet Office of Japan, “free economic and research activities are guaranteed in Japan within the scope of laws and regulations.” In March 2023, an official from Taiwan’s de facto embassy in Japan conducted a “courtesy visit” with TiSpace.

However, the embassy declined to provide additional information, stating that the launch was a private-sector matter.

TiSpace is the sole Taiwanese organization that is currently conducting launches. Wu Jong-shinn, one of the company’s other co-founders, is presently the director of Taiwan’s space agency.

The agency declined to respond to its partnership with TiSpace and stated that its launch services are procured through public tender.

The company’s initiative has garnered the backing of Japanese space enterprises, particularly in the isolated agricultural town of Taiki, located on the northern island of Hokkaido, where the launch will take place. Officials and experts emphasize the advantages of inviting foreign companies.

Yuko Nakagawa, a ruling-party lawmaker representing Taiki and neighboring communities, stated that TiSpace’s project was “a symbol of Taiwan-Japan friendship” and a positive development for an international business complex that local officials call a “space Silicon Valley.”

According to the most recent government plans, Japan aims to establish itself as Asia’s space transportation center, launch 30 rockets annually, and have a private space industry valued at over $50 billion by the early 2030s.

Jun Kazeki, the Cabinet Office’s senior official responsible for Japan’s space strategy, declined to provide an update on TiSpace’s intentions. He stated that the government’s priority is Japanese missiles, despite the possibility of utilizing overseas transportation technologies in the future.

Japanese-built boosters like the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3 are typically used for government launches. Private satellite operators frequently employ foreign launch companies outside Japan, including SpaceX and ArianeGroup.

A senior Japanese official with experience in the space sector has warned that a foreign company’s launch of orbital payloads from Japan would necessitate stringent government oversight and significant regulatory obstacles.

TiSpace’s sub-orbital launches are not subject to Japan’s Space Activities Act, which means that the central government is not required to provide final approval for the launch.

Tokyo intends to amend this legislation to include reusable rockets and suborbital flights; however, these changes are anticipated to require several years.

LOCAL INDUSTRY

According to Motoko Mizuno, a former official at JAXA and opposition lawmaker, Japan’s opening to foreign companies may render local launchers incapable of competing on price.

Japan is currently negotiating a space technology safeguards agreement with the United States, which could also facilitate U.S. commercial launches in Japan.

Even though JAXA has been launching rockets that have been domestically developed for decades, the private rocket industry in Japan is still in its infancy.

In March, Space One, supported by the aerospace giant IHI, experienced a rocket explosion during its inaugural launch. In 2019, Interstellar Technologies, which is headquartered in Taiki, became the first Japanese company to launch a sounding rocket into space successfully. However, the company has yet to conduct an orbital launch.

According to Yoshinori Odagiri, the CEO of Space Cotan, which manages the Hokkaido Spaceport in Taiki, a few European organizations have expressed interest in the launch complex.

According to Tadashi Morimitsu, a local official in the southwestern Oita prefecture, another emerging space center in Japan that is collaborating with the U.S. spaceplane company Sierra Space, TiSpace’s advancements in Hokkaido epitomize a “welcome phenomenon” of international space enterprises utilizing Japanese spaceports.

Boston Consulting Group principal Alessio Bonucci stated that, even though over 50 spaceports are currently under construction worldwide, “it is possible that only five to ten of them will be truly successful and self-sustaining in the long term.”

The company intends to increase its manufacturing capacity in Japan to accommodate Japanese consumers if TiSpace’s test launch is successful.

Letara, a company headquartered in Hokkaido, has expressed interest in whether TiSpace can transport its satellite propulsion system to space for testing.

“As long as the company is capable of launching, we do not inquire about its nationality or foreignness,” stated Shota Hirai, co-founder of Letara.