ispace

United Launch Alliance, Astrobotic ready for early Monday liftoff to the moon

The countdown to launch is on. United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket has been rolled to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of its early Monday morning launch, a miss

Despite setbacks, ispace to launch second moon mission in Q4 2024

Japanese lunar technology company ispace will make its second attempt at putting a lander on the moon in the fourth quarter of 2024, just about two years after it launched its first failed mission, ex

ispace unveils new lunar lander that will fly to the moon in 2026

Japanese space company ispace has invested over $40 million in its new U.S. subsidiary to date, as it looks to take advantage of growing investment from NASA and the Pentagon in technologies for the m

ispace loses contact with lunar lander seconds before touchdown

Japanese company ispace lost communication with its Hakuto-R lander just moments before it was supposed to touch down on the lunar surface. “At this moment, we have not been able to confirm succ

Watch ispace attempt to land on the moon for the first time

After five long months journeying through space, ispace’s Hakuto-R lander is ready to greet the lunar surface. The Japanese company is expecting to land Hakuto-R at 9:40 AM Pacific time today. If su

Japanese firm ispace lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ahead of first lunar landing

A company with a spacecraft en route to the moon, ispace is now trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Japanese firm raised around $52 million (¥6.7 billion) in an initial public offering last mont

Eyeing a new lunar economy, ispace plans to land on the moon at the end of April

Tokyo-based ispace said Monday that its Hakuto-R lunar lander is on track to reach the moon at the end of April. Ispace launched the lander on board a Falcon 9 in December; since then, the spacecraft

Max Q: A week of firsts

In this issue: A first for NASA's Artemis program… and Japanese firm ispace; news from Quantum Space, and more.

NASA’s Orion capsule returns to Earth as ispace’s lunar lander takes flight

Sunday was a landmark day for both commercial and public space ventures, with NASA’s Orion capsule returning to Earth just hours after the launch of a privately funded and built lunar lander by Japa

Max Q: Ocean splashdown

Rocket Lab's helicopter catch attempt ends in ocean splashdown; ispace wants to stake its claim to the moon; news from the FCC, Constellr and more

ispace wants to stake its claim to the moon with November launch

Tokyo-based startup ispace’s lunar ambitions will soon be put to the test, as the company gears up for its first launch at the end of this month. The startup will attempt to send its “Hakuto-R”

Moon set for November traffic jam as both ispace and NASA target launches

If all goes to plan, Florida’s Space Coast could see two separate lunar missions take off in November. Japanese startup ispace said Wednesday it is targeting a launch window of November 9-15 for its

Lockheed, Masten and ispace will talk going to the moon (and back) at TC Sessions: Space

Going to the moon is a laudable ambition, but what are you going to do when you get there? NASA and the private space industry aim to make the most of the lunar surface, and to do so they need to stud

Ispace unveils bigger moon lander capable of surviving lunar nights

Ispace, a Japanese space startup that aims to lead the development of a lunar economy, has unveiled its design for a large lander that could go to the moon as early as 2024. Tokyo-based ispace said th

Japanese startup ispace raises $46M to support planned moon missions

Japanese startup ispace has raised $46 million in a fresh round of Series C funding as it looks to complete three lunar lander missions in three years. The funding will go toward the second and third

Max Q: Selling space

Max Q is a weekly newsletter from TechCrunch all about space. Sign up here to receive it weekly on Mondays in your inbox. This week actually includes two, since I was out last week for a Canadian nati

Japanese space company ispace aims to send landers to the moon

Tokyo-based ispace has been selected to deliver rovers from Canada and Japan to the lunar surface after they launch aboard SpaceX rockets. The company will use its recently revealed Hakuto-R lander fo

NASA selects four companies for moon material collection as it seeks to set precedent on private sector outer space mining

NASA has selected the winning candidates that they’ve decided to tap to collect lunar resources for eventual Earth return. The four companies all have rides booked on future commercial lunar lan

Chinese commercial launch startup iSpace raises $172 million

The private launch industry isn’t showing any signs of slowing down, and a new $172 million Series B round of funding for China commercial launch startup iSpace indicates it could be heating up

Moon lander startup ispace raises $28 million and launches a new lunar data platform

Ispace, one of the startups working on putting a private lunar lander on the moon sometime in the next few years, has raised a $28 million Series B funding round, which will be used to help it continu
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