Sierra Space Corporation, MUFG Bank, Ltd., Kanematsu Corporation, and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. have concluded a strategic agreement in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, and MUFG Bank, Kanematsu, and TMNF have also made a strategic investment in Sierra Space to the tune of $290 million.
Right: Example of space use.
Images courtesy of SPACE FRONTIER STUDIO KIBO (credit: Bascu)
Through this partnership, Sierra Space will contribute to the commercialization of LEO (refers to the area where the ISS (altitude 400 km) is active, between 200 and 1000 km) , the creation of new industries as well as the enhancement of life on Earth.
Sierra Space is building a platform in LEO – space stations and transportation systems to and from Earth – and will soon launch the first of an initial seven resupply missions to the International Space Station (The ISS is scheduled to operate until 2030. There have been discussions, mainly in the United States, on how to conduct business on commercial space stations owned and operated by private companies following the ISS retirement) under a multibillion-dollar NASA contract with its nexgen Dream Chaser® spaceplane (A reusable space plane developed by Sierra Space. Operation of resupply missions to the International Space Station will begin in late 2023/ early 2024. Manned aircraft are also expected to start operating in the second half of the 2020s.)
Early this year, NASA awarded a Space Act Agreement to Sierra Space, providing support to a “pathfinder” space station that will serve as a technology demonstration for key elements of commercial space stations.
Sierra Space is considering the use of Oita Airport as an Asian hub and spaceport for Dream Chaser®, which is expected to have an economic ripple effect of about 350 billion yen in Japan as a whole and about 35 billion yen in Oita Prefecture (estimation of Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting Co., Ltd.) In addition, Sierra Space’s end-to-end business and technology platform is expected to use the microgravity environment of LEO for innovations in the field of life science, academic scientific experiments in the fields of materials and physical chemistry, drug discovery and other applications, as well as entertainment.
In October last year, the four companies announced joint participation in JAXA’s “Feasibility Study for Sustainable Space Environment Utilization in Low Earth Orbit” to discuss how to conduct LEO activities after the ISS retirement and how to conduct LEO activities after 2025, including extending the ISS, and to propose new solutions and business models.
Under the strategic partnership, MUFG Bank, Kanematsu, and TMNF will participate in the commercialization of LEO, led by Sierra Space, thereby further expanding the supply chain of the Japanese space industry and creating new industries. The company will also broaden efforts to develop the space industry by bringing together all the companies who can participate in this initiative.