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Tokyo, March 8th 2019 – Space BD Inc. announced today that it has been selected as the single commercial service provider for the utilization of the IVA-replaceable Small Exposed Experiment Platform (i-SEEP) in response to the request for proposal (the RFP) issued by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). i-SEEP is located on the exposed facility of the “Kibo” Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo) on the International Space Station (ISS).

Since May 2018, Space BD has been providing satellite launch services as the official commercial service provider for CubeSat deployment from Kibo, and this is the second RFP by JAXA in their grand design to open utilization of Kibo to the public. Selected for the 2nd time by JAXA, Space BD will take on the leading role to accelerate business development of Kibo utilization, which is the key to further commercialization of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO).

This i-SEEP utilization has the potential to realize various missions in the space environment, utilizing the robotic arm and airlock which both can be provided only by Kibo, and the satellite bus capabilities such as power and communications by i-SEEP. With these unique capabilities, Space BD will provide a safe and user-friendly in-orbit demonstration service named “Space BD External Demonstrator” (hereinafter “this Service”) for customers such as small and microsatellite component manufacturers.

Space BD regards this Service as an opportunity for technology advancement and stimulating product development in the growing field of small and microsatellites. Even before this selection, Space BD partnered with SATLANTIS, a Spanish company developing high-resolution earth observation payloads for microsatellites, to provide i-SEEP services under JAXA’s paid-use framework before this RFP(Space BD and Satlantis sign an alliance to install iSIM170 on “i-SEEP”, the exposed experimental platform of the ISS JAXA module).

The Service has high synergy effect with our satellite deployment business from the marketing and technical integration aspect, and Space BD believes this Service to grow to become another core business of the company.

Furthermore, working on the favorable direction & location, stable communications and power supply provided by i-SEEP, Space BD will contribute to expand the space utilization market by stimulating demand in various fields such as entertainment, regional development, and educational activities through public-private partnerships.

■Comments from the Representative: Masatoshi Nagasaki, Co-Founder & CEO of SpaceBD

We are truly honored to be selected by JAXA once again, following on our selection for CubeSat deployment, to become the single commercial service provider for i-SEEP located on the ISS, one of the greatest assets in space for humankind.

 

Living on our mission of “Accelerating Industrialization of Space“, and as the leading company for the ISS utilization and the startup company with the great commitment and agility, we will continue our sincere efforts to commercialize LEO including the ISS as its core function.