MaiaSpace, a pioneering launch services provider designing, manufacturing, commercializing and operating the first reusable and more eco-responsible mini-launcher in Europe, has signed its first commercial contract with Exotrail, the France-based space logistics leader. The Agreement will facilitate the launch of multiple spacevan™ servicer missions as early as 2027, paving the way for a long-term collaboration between MaiaSpace and Exotrail. This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for MaiaSpace, as it represents the company’s first commercial contract, underscoring its emergence as a key player in the global space transportation industry.

Securing our first commercial contract less than three years after the creation of MaiaSpace is a major step forward, demonstrating our commitment to propose to our customers the most competitive space launch service in its category. We are extremely grateful towards a leader like Exotrail in end-to-end space mobility for this mark of confidence. This agreement provides added flexibility for Exotrail’s access to reliable launch opportunities tailored to its customers needs, and reinforces MaiaSpace’s ambition to become a leading player in European space transportation. (Yohann Leroy CEO of MaiaSpace)

The synergy between MaiaSpace’s innovative and modular launch services and the mobility and hosting capabilities of the spacevan™ platform, enlarge the array of possibilities given to satellite operators for their payload deployment and services in space.

At Exotrail the spacevan™ manifest is building up, and we are thrilled to team up with a trusted partner such as MaiaSpace for our access to space. Epitome of European capabilities, and synergies between launchers and servicing vehicles, this contract opens new perspectives for customers who want reliable and secured delivery in space for their payload. (Jean-Luc Maria CEO & Cofounder of Exotrail)

The signing of the agreement follows several months of constructive discussions, culminating in a mutually beneficial deal that strengthens the European space ecosystem. By leveraging their respective expertise, MaiaSpace and Exotrail are poised to drive innovation, efficiency and competitivity in space transportation and mobility in Europe for years to come.

Source: MaiaSpace

TOKYO–March 10, 2025–ispace, inc. (ispace) )(TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, and Kurita Water Industries, Ltd., a Japanese water treatment facility and chemical manufacturer, today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding for payload transportation services aimed at demonstrating a future lunar water processing test device on the lunar surface.

Kurita Water Industries has participated as a HAKUTO-R corporate partner since November 2024. At that time, the two companies agreed to build a stronger partnership and collaborate on future missions to equip lunar landers with water processing systems for use in space. This agreement memorializes cooperation to transport a water processing system to the lunar surface to conduct demonstration tests on an ispace lunar mission after 2027.

Kurita Water Industries is providing ultra-pure water used in the lunar water electrolysis device developed by Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Ltd. The water was produced using a super-pure water system designed for use in space, utilizing the company’s water treatment technology developed over many years. The device containing the water is installed on the RESILIENCE lunar lander operated as part of ispace’s “SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon Mission 2. Demonstrating this technology will enable a significant reduction in the cost of transporting water from Earth and will contribute to the advancement of the cislunar economy.

“The signing of this memorandum is another example of how ispace is providing opportunities to companies like Kurita Water Industries to conduct demonstration experiments on the Moon, in this case to purify water. We hope that this activity will be the first step towards the efficient recycling of lunar resources, and that it will lead to the realization of economically sustainable activities on the Moon,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace.

“The conclusion of this memorandum of understanding will provide a solid path for our company to expand the ‘knowledge of water’ that we have cultivated through water treatment on the ground and at the International Space Station (ISS) to the lunar economy. We will work together with ispace to achieve the realization of a sustainable society in space, and we will accelerate our efforts towards demonstration tests on the lunar surface,” said Hiroyuki Suzuki, General Manager of the Innovation Headquarters, Kurita Water Industries Ltd.

Currently, ispace is actively operating the SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon Mission 2 and has achieved 5 of the 10 mission milestones. Most recently, the RESILIENCE lunar lander successfully completed a flyby of the Moon on Feb. 15, 2025, reaching its closest point to the lunar surface at 22:43 UTC, Feb. 14, 2025. It has navigated to a point 1.1 million km from Earth. RESILIENCE is currently scheduled to land on the Moon on June 6, 2025 (JST).

Future Missions

ispace is leveraging its global presence through its three business units in Japan, the U.S., and Luxembourg, for the simultaneous development of upcoming missions. Mission 2, featuring the RESILIENCE lunar lander and led by ispace Japan, launched on Jan. 15, 2025, completed a lunar flyby on Feb. 15, 2025, and is currently traveling to the Moon. During the mission, the TENACIOUS micro rover will be deployed on the lunar surface to conduct a technological demonstration of regolith extraction as well as mobility on the lunar surface. Mission 3, debuting the APEX 1.0 lunar lander, is led by ispace-U.S. and is expected to launch in 2026. The company’s fourth mission, which will utilize the Series 3 lander, currently being designed in Japan, is scheduled to be launched by 2027.

About ispace

ispace, a global lunar exploration company with the vision, “Expand our Planet. Expand our Future.”, specializes in designing and building lunar landers and rovers. ispace aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon. The company has business entities in Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States with approximately 300 employees worldwide.

Source: ispace

Helsinki, Finland - March 15, 2025 - ICEYE, the global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imaging for high-fidelity Earth Observation, persistent monitoring, and natural catastrophe solutions, has successfully launched four new 25 cm resolution satellites, strengthening the company’s SAR satellite constellation, the largest in the world. Among the satellites was ICEYE’s Generation 4 satellite (“Gen4”), marking another leap in the company’s rapid innovation in SAR technology. These satellites will extend ICEYE’s leadership in imaging for the most challenging applications in natural catastrophe response and national security.

The satellites were integrated via Exolaunch and successfully lifted off on March 15, 2025, aboard the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. Each spacecraft has established communication, and routine commissioning operations are underway.

ICEYE’s Gen4 satellite provides the best SAR image quality available and marks a significant breakthrough in SAR satellite technology and in the industry. This groundbreaking technology advancement builds on ICEYE’s space heritage and doubles both the size of the SAR antenna and radiated SAR power. This enables Gen4 satellites to more than double the imaging area, ranging from 150 km to 400 km swath width. The images contain 30% greater information density. The improvements also include advanced orbit control for target imaging, and more imaging capacity for congested areas in a single satellite pass.

This new generation will empower customers with enhanced situational awareness, faster decision-making capabilities, and improved mission outcomes. Detection and classification of vessels, vehicles, or aircraft will be much easier, which is key in demanding defense and intelligence environments. ICEYE will release further details about the full suite of Generation 4 technology improvements and customer applications in the coming weeks.

“With the launch of the Generation 4 satellite, ICEYE continues to lead the innovation in the SAR satellite industry. As we aim to be the primary provider of critical infrastructure for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) to allied nations, our SAR development serves the growing demand for space-based technology in the global defense markets,” said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-founder of ICEYE.

With today’s launch, ICEYE has launched 48 SAR satellites into orbit for the company and its customers since 2018 and plans to launch more than 20 new satellites annually in 2025, 2026, and beyond. ICEYE’s first launch of the year in January 2025 successfully deployed four new satellites.

About ICEYE

ICEYE delivers unparalleled persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth, faster and more accurately than ever before. Owning the world's largest synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation, ICEYE provides objective, near real-time insights, ensuring that customers have unmatched access to actionable data, day or night, even in challenging environmental conditions. As a trusted partner to governments and commercial industries, ICEYE delivers intelligence in sectors such as defense and intelligence, insurance, natural catastrophe response and recovery, security, maritime monitoring, and finance, enabling decision-making that contributes to community resilience and sustainable development. ICEYE operates internationally with offices in Finland, Poland, Spain, the UK, Australia, Japan, UAE, Greece, and the US. We have more than 700 employees, inspired by the shared vision of improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation.

Oslo/ Munich 12 March 2025 – The Norwegian Space Agency has signed a contract with the European satellite launch service company Isar Aerospace to launch its Arctic Ocean Surveillance (AOS) program satellites. Isar Aerospace’s launch vehicle ‘Spectrum’ will transport two satellites to sun synchronous orbit (SSO) from the company’s dedicated launch complex at Andøya Spaceport launch site in Norway.

The launch is scheduled until 2028 and will take place from Andøya Spaceport, Europe's first operational spaceport on the mainland. The agreement between the Norwegian Space Agency and Isar Aerospace involves launching two Norwegian satellites as part of the AOS program, a national maritime surveillance system.

“The launch of the AOS satellites from Andøya Spaceport will be a true milestone for Norwegian space activities. We look forward to a robust partnership with Isar Aerospace and seeing ‘Spectrum’ in action,” says Christian Hauglie-Hanssen, Director General of the Norwegian Space Agency.

“We are committed to enable independent access to space from Andøya Spaceport, strengthening national and European security and resilience by providing cost-effective and reliable orbital launch services”, says Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of Isar Aerospace.

Isar Aerospace is currently preparing for its first test flight from Norway. Having successfully completed static firings of both stages of its launch vehicle ‘Spectrum’, the first test flight will take place from Andøya Spaceport in Norway as soon as possible following Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) approval and licensing. The first flight of Isar Aerospace’s ‘Spectrum’ will be the first integrated test of tens of thousands of components and aims to generate data and experience that the company can apply to future missions.

Commenting on the company's upcoming first test flight, Daniel Metzler says: “Our team is in the starting blocks, and we are almost ready for the test flight.”

Andøya Spaceport, Norway's first orbital launch site, was established to facilitate commercial satellite launches. The spaceport construction started in 2021, and it was officially opened in 2023.

“Currently, there is a significant shortage of launch capabilities and launch sites”, Christian Hauglie-Hanssen says. “Andøya Spaceport and Isar Aerospace will provide critical launch capacity for the satellite market.”

Ingun Berget, President at Andøya Spaceport states that: “Andøya Spaceport is proud to be the launch site chosen for the AOS satellites. This emphasizes the strategic importance of Norway getting an operational spaceport, in particular for Norwegian governmental launches. In partnership with our first customer Isar Aerospace, we are ready to show the excellence of Andøya Spaceport as a service provider for enabling safe and efficient launch from European soil.”

The two satellites set for launch with Isar Aerospace’s launch vehicle ‘Spectrum’ are AOS-Demo, developed by EIDEL to test innovative maritime monitoring technology, and AOS-Precursor, the first operational satellite of the system, developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

“For the first time, Norwegian industry is delivering satellites designed and built in Norway under a government contract from a Norwegian launch site. Our partnership with the European launch service provider Isar Aerospace strengthens both the nation’s expertise and capabilities while positioning Andøya Spaceport as a strategic launch site for Europe,” Christian Hauglie-Hanssen concludes.

About the Norwegian Space Agency

The Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA) is operating on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries. NOSA’s responsibility is to follow up the Norwegian space policy, contribute to space activities that address societal change, facilitate growth and development of the Norwegian space sector. NOSA is managing Norway’s participation in European and international space initiatives, including the European Space Agency (ESA) and the EU programs, while facilitating bilateral agreements with key partners. The Agency is located in Oslo and has a staff of 50 employees.

About Andøya Spaceport

Andøya Spaceport is strategically located on Andøya in Northern Norway, at 69° north and 16° east, a prime location for horizontal, sea-based, mobile or vertical launches. This northern vantage point, free from significant air and maritime traffic, provides optimal conditions for safe and efficient operations over the vast oceans of the north. With high-end infrastructure, Andøya Spaceport facilitates design and innovation for future launch operations with up to 1,500 kg payload capability. Once completed, our Full Operational Capacity will support up to 30 missions per year to orbital inclinations from 90° to 110.6° for commercial, military, government and institutional satellite customers.

Source: Isar Aerospace