Pale Blue will establish a new development base for production technologies in Tsukuba City in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, aiming for business expansion of water based propulsion systems toward the company’s vision of creating mobility capabilities that are core to the space industry.
Pale Blue has also been awarded the Ibaraki Prefecture Corporate Location Promotion Subsidy, expected to be around $1 million (JPY 150M) 150M), and the company will strengthen collaboration with the Ibaraki Prefecture Background
Following the recent advent of smallsats that can be developed at a lower cost and in a shorter lead time, an increasing number of companies across the globe have entered their businesses into the space industry and that leads to a rapid expansion in commercial applications. The growth driver is satellite constellations wherein a group of smallsats are launched and work together as a system to provide services such as communication and Earth Observation (EO).
To operate a satellite constellation, it is necessary to coordinate the positioning of multiple satellites in space as well as to take measures to mitigate space debris. The propulsion systems Pale Blue has developed are keys to satellite constellations.
Pale Blue has decided to set up a new development base for production technologies in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, for business expansion of water based propulsion systems, where the number of inquiries from national and international satellite operators have increased considerably since the successful on-orbit operation of the company’s water based propulsion systems in March of 2023.
Jun Asakawa, Co-Founder and CEO of Pale Blue, said, “To expand the use of small satellites and to mitigate space debris, it is essential to have propulsion system to actively move satellites in space. We will establish a new development base for production technologies of water based propulsion systems in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, to create mobility capabilities that are core to the space industry. With strong support from the Ibaraki Prefecture through collaboration and the Ibaraki Prefecture Corporate Location Promotion Subsidy, we will build a structure for business expansion in coordination with our Kashiwanoha R&D base. We will contribute to the economic development of Ibaraki by new employment and investment while aiming to make further business leaps across the globe.“