Starship

Japan’s ispace is expanding its role in the commercial lunar economy after two unsuccessful moon landing attempts in 2023 and 2025. The company is developing its next-generation Ultra lunar landers, including a mission under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme, as competition intensifies in the race to build sustainable infrastructure for future lunar exploration.

Ispace partners with SpaceX for shared lunar transport

Japanese lunar transport company ispace said on Wednesday it would launch a new lower-cost lunar cargo business using SpaceX’s Starship rocket and lunar landing system, marking a significant expansion of its commercial Moon ambitions.

Tokyo-based ispace has purchased 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of payload capacity aboard a future Starship mission expected to land on the Moon as early as 2030. The agreement, valued at $50 million, will allow the company to transport customer payloads through a shared-ride service while developing a lunar surface vehicle capable of carrying cargo from multiple clients.

The company described the new offering as a “lunar access integrator” service, providing a cost-effective way for governments, research organisations and commercial customers to send equipment to the Moon without requiring dedicated spacecraft.

Shared rides aim to cut lunar mission costs

Hideari Kamiya, ispace’s executive vice president, said the service would complement the company’s ongoing development of dedicated lunar landers described as “taxis” by functioning more like a shared transportation “bus” for lunar cargo.

The partnership expands an existing relationship between the two companies. ispace previously relied on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets for its lunar missions in 2023 and 2025, although both attempts ended unsuccessfully before achieving a soft landing.

Ispace continues long-term Moon ambitions

Despite those setbacks, ispace continues to pursue its long-term lunar programme and plans to land three next-generation Ultra landers by 2030, including one mission under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

Chief Executive Takeshi Hakamada said working with Starship would “exponentially” accelerate the company’s growth in the emerging lunar infrastructure market while allowing it to continue developing its own landing technology.

SpaceX expands commercial lunar partnerships

SpaceX welcomed the expanded partnership, saying Starship’s reusable design could significantly improve access to the Moon for commercial customers.

Stephanie Bednarek, SpaceX’s vice president of commercial sales, said ispace’s integration services would provide an important pathway for smaller payloads seeking affordable lunar transportation.

Although the agreement is not exclusive, NASA plans to use Starship for its first crewed lunar landing under the Artemis programme in 2028, while U.S.-based lunar rover developer Astrolab has also reserved space on future Starship missions.

Hakamada said SpaceX initially approached ispace with the idea of creating a shared lunar cargo integration business, adding that while competitors may eventually enter the market, few companies currently possess both the transportation expertise and the capability to continue supporting payloads after landing on the Moon.

Future outlook

The partnership reflects the rapid commercialisation of lunar exploration, with companies increasingly seeking lower-cost and more flexible ways to reach the Moon. If Starship enters operational lunar service on schedule, ispace could establish itself as a key provider of shared lunar logistics, expanding opportunities for governments, research institutions and private companies. However, the project’s success will depend on Starship meeting its development milestones and sustaining a reliable launch cadence, making the coming years critical for both companies’ ambitions in the emerging lunar economy.

With information from Reuters.

May 22 (UPI) — SpaceX successfully launched an updated version of its Starship on Friday evening, meeting all goals the company said it was aiming for.

The launch was the first of the company’s V3 version of both the booster rocket and “Ship” upper stage, which is a key part of NASA’s Artemis series of missions to the moon and, potentially, to Mars.

SpaceX commentators said during the company’s official broadcast that the updated Starship, which delivered 22 simulator Starlink satellites into orbit and converted flight adjustments it will need when it lands instead splashing down in water, “delivered.”

The company had scrubbed the first attempted launch of the megarocket, the largest ever built, on Thursday because of an engineering issue that could not be fixed in time to make the scheduled launch window.

The mission for the 408-foot-tall Super Heavy rocket, which is powered by 33 newly redesigned Raptor engines, the same as Starship, was to successfully launch, ascend, separate from the second stage — Starship — and then perform boost back and landing burns before splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico.

After separation, Starship’s goals were to light its engines, enter a sub-orbital path and release a series of dummy Starlink satellites before performing a series of maneuvers and testing its newly designed heat shield.

When Starship splashed down in the Indian Ocean after its tests, SpaceX commentators said during the broadcast that the fireball when it hit the Indian Ocean was the goal, “as weird as that sounds.”

This version of Starship is not the final one, but rather is a prototype of one of several that are planned for NASA’s return of Americans to the moon.

NASA’s planned Artemis III mission in 2028 is expected to test connecting the Orion crew capsule — which was tested on its first crew mission earlier this year — to both Starship and Blue Origin‘s Blue Moon space vessel, which has yet to take its first flight.

May 21 (UPI) — SpaceX on Thursday scrubbed the planned first test flight for its redesigned Super Heavy megarocket, the largest rocket ever built, from its new Texas launch pad.

Following several delays of the countdown at 40 seconds remaining, SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot announced the launch would be delayed due to engineering issues which could not be immediately remedied.

“We are expecting to be able to make another flight attempt tomorrow, but obviously stay tuned to our social media,” he said.

In addition to trying out the redesigned Super Heavy propulsion system, the launch is meant to assess upgraded systems on Starship, including the deployment of 22 Starlink satellite simulators, intentionally stressing its new flight control flaps and attempting the “dynamic banking maneuver” that it eventually will use to land back on its pad.

When it takes off, the uncrewed mission will be the 12th flight for Starship as SpaceX develops what is expected to be a primary vehicle for NASA’s Artemis missions to the moon.

“The flight test’s primary goal will be to demonstrate each of these new pieces in the flight environment for the first time, with each element of the Starship architecture featuring significant redesigns to enable full and rapid reuse that incorporate learnings from years of development and testing,” SpaceX said on its website.

The V3, which is 408 feet tall and more powerful than previous Super Heavy rockets, includes 33 redesigned Raptor engines — Starship has six of its own — will take off from South Texas for a round of primary tests similar to previous launches.

The rocket, SpaceX said, is hoped to successfully launch, ascend, separate from the second stage — Starship — and then perform boostback and landing burns in the Gulf of Mexico.

“As this is the first flight test of a significantly redesigned vehicle, the booster will not attempt a return to the launch site for catch,” the company said.

During the hot-stage separation, Starship will light its engines to enter a sub-orbital path, performing tests and then splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

Tests of the space vessel are important as NASA’s Artemis III mission in 2028 is expected to test connecting the Orion crew capsule to both Starship and Blue Origin‘s Blue Moon, although Blue Moon has yet to be launched for its first test flight.

Starship also is expected to be the ship that delivers Americans back to the moon in the next several years.