Jun Asakawa, Co-founder & CEO of Pale Blue (left in photo) and Yuya Nakamura, President and CEO of Axelspace

Axelspace Corporation (“Axelspace”), a leading microsatellite company committed to making “Space within Your Reach,” has entered into a service agreement with Pale Blue Inc. (“Pale Blue”), a company that develops, manufactures, and sells thrusters (engines) for small satellites, for an in-orbit demonstration, as detailed below.

Axelspace provides AxelLiner Laboratory (AL Lab), a new service originating from the AxelLiner business that is specialized in in-orbit demonstration of space components.

Under this contract, an in-orbit demonstration of a fast-start Hall thruster developed by Pale Blue is scheduled to be conducted in 2027.

Nonetheless, conducting in-orbit demonstrations in a short period of time is known to be a significant challenge due to the inconsistent opportunities provided for in-orbit demonstration missions and its lengthy process from selection to launch, often taking up to several years.

Against this backdrop, space policies promoted by government bodies—including the Space Strategic Fund—position the establishment of a domestic satellite supply chain as a key priority. As a result, demand is growing for timely in-orbit demonstrations of innovative satellite components originating in Japan.

To overcome these existing challenges involved in in-orbit demonstrations, Axelspace has developed a service tailored to such special needs by leveraging the short development time and mass-production capabilities realized by AxelLiner.

Jun Asakawa, Co-Founder and CEO of Pale Blue, commented;

We are deeply honored to have signed a demonstration contract with Axelspace for the 2027 in-orbit demonstration of our compact Hall thruster, “PBH-100.” We will validate the product’s key features—high thrust, high specific impulse, and rapid startup performance—in space. Through this demonstration, we aim to further deepen the strong partnership we have built with Axelspace through the development and manufacturing of propulsion systems, and contribute to the expansion of the small satellite market.