Japan's lunar startup ispace delays NASA-sponsored mission to 2026 (updated)

Ispace

28/09/2023 10:10

(Adds details from announcement, media briefing throughout)
    By Kantaro  Komiya
       TOKYO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Japan's lunar transport
startup ispace inc  9348.T  said on Thursday it would postpone a
future moon landing mission by a year to 2026 to better prepare
for a commission by U.S. agency NASA, as well as deal with
component supply delays.
    Tokyo-based ispace attempted its first lunar landing with
the Hakuto-R Mission 1 spacecraft in April, which failed due to
an altitude miscalculation. The Financial Times had reported
earlier this month that months of corporate turmoil preceded the
mission's failure.
    Speaking after the delay was announced, Chief Executive
Takeshi Hakamada told a media briefing that the scientific
equipment NASA has commissioned ispace to carry to the moon
turned out to require a higher vibration absorption standard. He
did not elaborate.
    The U.S. unit of ispace, which has partnered with spacecraft
software developer Draper to build lunar landers, has also
encountered procurement delays for some parts, Hakamada said.
    The company on Thursday also unveiled the design of its
third lander named "APEX 1.0" which would be able to take a
shorter trajectory to the moon, although its maximum load was
reduced by 40% from a previous plan to 300kg.
    Asked about the load reduction, Hakamada said it was due to
"purely technological considerations". 
    There is no change to the launch schedule of ispace's second
mission in 2024, but missions that will follow its delayed third
mission may be postponed, the company added.
    ispace halved its annual sales forecast for the fiscal year
ending March 2024 to 3.1 billion yen ($20.8 million) due to the
rescheduling, but its earnings forecast was upgraded to a net
loss of 7.9 billion yen because of extraordinary insurance
income. 
    Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, a MS&AD  8725.T  unit, paid
3.7 billion yen last month to ispace for Hakuto-R Mission 1's
failure.
    In April, ispace shares made a blistering debut on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange two weeks before the landing attempt, at one
point rising to more than nine times its IPO price. The
unsuccessful landing resulted in a steep sell-off, but the
shares have since recovered, closing on Thursday at 1,401 yen.

($1 = 149.2900 yen)

 (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Himani Sarkar and
Miral Fahmy)
 ((Kantaro.Komiya@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @kantarokomiya;))