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ISS Small Satellite Deployment Business: 13 Satellites Planned for Transfer to JAXA, Most in a Fiscal Year Since Founding
ISS Small Satellite Deployment Business: 13 Satellites Planned for Transfer to JAXA, Most in a Fiscal Year Since Founding
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Tokyo—Space BD, a leading Japanese space startup, plans to transfer* 13 satellites to JAXA during the fiscal year, the highest ever number since our founding, through the small satellite deployment business using the Exposed Facility on the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” on the International Space Station (ISS). Space BD announces that launch of 6 of these satellites was completed at 12:02 am (Japan Standard Time) on August 5, 2024, and deployment from ISS is scheduled for August 29, 2024.
*JAXA transfer: Small satellites undergo environmental resistance tests such as vibration tests and thermal vacuum tests on the ground, complete safety screening and conformity assessment, and are then delivered to JAXA for visual inspection on site. They are then loaded onto a rocket, delivered to ISS, and deployed into space from the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo.”
Space BD was selected in 2018 as a partner for the first project open to the private sector for JAXA for the small satellite deployment business from the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” on ISS. Since then, Space BD has continued to be the only company selected as the partner for all open business projects related to satellite launches and ISS use, including use of ISS’s onboard and external facilities, rideshare spaces on the next generation flagship H3 rocket, and New Space Station Resupply Vehicle HTV-X satellite deployment. In 2021 we began offering launch overseas as another launch method in addition to launch from within Japan. This enabled us to provide more flexible launch timings, better accommodate a wide range of sizes, and enabled launch into orbit. To date, through our service Space BD has conducted approximately over 80 satellite launches, both domestically and overseas, and had over 450 space transports (including protein samples).
Space BD plans to have 13 satellites transferred in FY2024 through the small satellite deployment business from ISS “Kibo,” the most since our founding. Of those, 6 satellites were loaded onto the Cygnus resupply mission NG-21, and launched into space on the Falcon 9 rocket manufactured and provided by SpaceX at 12:02 am (Japan Standard Time) on August 5, 2024. The loaded satellites arrived at ISS at 6:33 pm (Japan Standard Time) on August 6, 2024, where the crew moved them to the small satellite orbital deployer, from which they are scheduled to be deployed on August 29, 2024 (Japan Standard Time). The total of 6 satellites in this launch is the largest number of satellites launched simultaneously since Space BD was chosen as the private sector partner for JAXA for the ISS small satellite deployment project in 2018.
The following 6 satellites were launched [(Top row) Satellite name / (Bottom row) Business operator name]
The following 3 satellites are scheduled for launch at the end of 2024 [(Top row) Satellite name / (Bottom row) Business operator name]
The other 4 satellites are scheduled to be transferred during FY2024.
■ Comment from Tetsuro Mizuno, Senior Engineer, Space BD Inc.
I am thrilled that we were able to make our small contribution and support all of these satellite projects to achieve their missions. I hope that the satellites are deployed from the ISS, that they all work well, and complete their missions. As a team, we will come together and continue to use our experience that we have cultivated to date to serve as a bridge for many missions in Japan and around the world to reach space.
■ About Space BD
We at Space BD are a one-stop provider of solutions for those in the space utilization field. Not only can we deliver payloads to space by a variety of methods and facilitate the use of International Space Station assets, but we can also assist with everything from business plans to hands-on technical operations. As of November 2023, Space BD’s performance record marked over 80 satellite projects and over 450 orders.