ElevationSpace, the Japanese satellite reentry startup, raised a $40M Series B, bringing the company’s total amount raised to $63.5M, the company announced Friday.
The reentry sector is getting almost as hot as the capsules themselves. ElevationSpace is betting its edge lies in Japan’s deep history with small-satellite lift-guided-reentry technology, by developing its spacecraft in collaboration with JAXA and Tohoku University.
Investors in the round included SPARX Asset Management and Beyond Next Ventures, which both invested in ElevationSpace’s Series A. The round also included several corporate investors, such as automotive parts supplier Toyoda Gosei and legacy printing conglomerate Dai Nippon Printing.
The platform: ElevationSpace’s vision for an in-orbit transportation network is centered on its in-space research and return platforms.
- ELS-R is an uncrewed platform for in-orbit research, development, and manufacturing, with Earth-return capabilities.
- ELS-RS will be an uncrewed recovery service designed for high-frequency payload returns from crewed space stations. The company is targeting a 2029 demonstration on the ISS.
AOBA—Japan’s first private reentry satellite, as well as the first model of the ELS-R series— will be ready to launch later this year. The demo mission will carry experimental payloads, conduct experiments, and then return to Earth.
International ambitions: With the recent funding, ElevationSpace looks to further expand into European and US markets. The company has recently announced multiple international partnerships, including:
- Isar Aerospace will launch AOBA on its Spectrum rocket, with ElevationSpace marking the launch provider’s first Asian customer.
- Axiom Space agreed to explore reentry and recovery services with ElevationSpace, for commercial space stations.
- Redwire signed an MoU to integrate microgravity and biopharmaceutical hardware with ElevationSpace’s demonstration platform.
“Reentry and recovery technology is an essential piece of space transportation infrastructure beyond the rocket,” CEO Ryohei Kobayashi said in a statement. “Over the past year, our company has secured multiple research and development projects related to recovering materials from space stations, manned spacecraft, and Mars landings, demonstrating both our technical potential and the crucial need for our transportation infrastructure.”
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