science

Interstellar Technologies

Interstellar Technologies is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Interstellar Technologies rather than just read about it. In short: Interstellar Technologies, Inc. (Japanese: インターステラテクノロジズ（株）, Hepburn: Intāsutera Tekunorojizu (kabu)), or IST, is a Japanese private spaceflight company aiming to eventually build a launch vehicle for small satellites under 100 kg.

Key takeaways

Interstellar Technologies belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Interstellar Technologies to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Interstellar Technologies from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Interstellar Technologies, Inc. (Japanese: インターステラテクノロジズ（株）, Hepburn: Intāsutera Tekunorojizu (kabu)), or IST, is a Japanese private spaceflight company aiming to eventually build a launch vehicle for small satellites under 100 kg. It is a rocket spacelaunch company developing the MOMO (also Momo, etc.) sounding rocket and the orbital launch vehicles called ZERO and DECA. Interstellar's stated goal is to reduce the cost of access to space. Interstellar is attempting to have the first privately developed rocket in Japan to reach space.

History The group that became Interstellar Technologies was created as a hobbyist organization in 1997. Interstellar Technologies predecessor company was established in 2003 by Takafumi Horie, who previously founded the ISP Livedoor. It was established to develop rockets to launch small satellites. It became Interstellar Technologies in 2005 (some sources name the year 2013 as the founding year of Interstellar Technologies). In 2017, it became the first Japanese company to launch a privately developed space rocket, though the launch was unsuccessful. A subsequent test in 2019 was successful at taking a 20 kg payload on a suborbital trajectory to the edge of space. As of 2017, the company planned to develop a rocket by 2020 that would be capable of launching small satellites into orbit. As of 2018, the president is Takahiro Inagawa. In March 2018, Interstellar entered into a business alliance with Nippon Travel Agency and Space Development Corp. In May 2018, Interstellar received an investment of ¥19.8 million from Kushiro Manufacturing. As of June 2018, the company had raised about ¥30 million (about US$250,000) in crowdfunding. In January 2025, Interstellar received a $44 million investment from Woven by Toyota.

Rockets

MOMO sounding rocket The initial rocket the company is developing is the MOMO sounding rocket:

First launch: 30 July 2017 (failure) First successful launch: 3 May 2019 (UTC) Launch attempts: 7 (3 successful) Height: 10 m (33 ft) Diameter: 50 cm (20 in) Mass: 1 tonne (0.98 long tons; 1.1 short tons) Apogee: 100 km (62 mi), capable of reaching the Kármán line or the boundary of space. Payload to Kármán line: 20 kg (44 lb) Engine: Custom Helium Pressure-fed engine with 12 kilonewtons of thrust Propellants: Ethanol with Liquid Oxygen (LOX) Attitude control: Gimballed thrust for steering, cold gas thrusters for roll control Cost: ¥50 million (~$440 thousand)

MOMO v1 In response to the problems encountered in the engine nozzle and ignitor during the fifth launch and in the first attempt of the sixth launch (June and July 2020 respectively) Interstellar Technology began development of a full system upgrade. During a video conference on June 1, 2021 they announced the end of the upgrading process that focused on engine system, airframe equipment, avionics, and ground support equipment resulting in new nozzles, new igniters, an increase in dry mass by 40 kg, in propellant mass by 30 kg, in length by 0.2 m and in thrust by 2 kN. Due to the heavy modifications performed the company started referring to the previous version of the rocket as MOMO v0, while the upgraded one is now being called MOMO v1.

MOMO flight testing The flight test program began in mid-2017:

ZERO orbital rocket The ZERO launch vehicle is aimed at orbital launches of smallsats.

First launch: 2027 (planned) Payload to 500 km (310 mi) Sun-Synchronous Orbit: 250 kg (550 lb) Fuel: Liquid biomethane (LBM)

DECA orbital rocket On 25 January 2023, IST announced plans to develop the DECA launch vehicle. DECA is a larger launch vehicle that can build small satellite constellations, launch large satellites into orbit, and transport cargo to the International Space Station, thereby contributing to the expansion of Japan’s space transportation capabilities. DECA will also be responsible for launching the satellite constellation targeted by the satellite developer Our Stars, a wholly owned subsidiary of IST.

Launch site The launch site of IST resides next to the Taiki Aerospace Research Field of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, located within the Taiki Multi-Purpose Aerospace Park, which is an aerodrome in Taiki, Hokkaido, Japan. Launch Complex-0 (LC-0) is the launch site for MOMO and the static engine test facility for MOMO and ZERO. Launch Complex-1 (LC-1) is a new launch pad for ZERO and is planned to be available in FY2023. LC-1 will include a Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and development and test facilities. LC-1 will be equipped with an exhaust duct to reduce noise from the engine jet and minimize damage to the satellite from vibration. Launch Complex-2 (LC-2) is another launch pad designed for more frequent launches of ZERO and is planned to be available in FY2025. LC-2 will include a Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) capable of preparing multiple launch vehicles simultaneously. In April 2021, a plan to expand the park into a private sector spaceport, Hokkaido Spaceport, was announced. The current 1000-meter runway is planned to be extended to 1300 meters, and building a new 3000-meter runway is also considered.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Interstellar Technologies

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Interstellar Technologies claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Interstellar Technologies before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Interstellar Technologies ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Interstellar Technologies

In research: Interstellar Technologies appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Interstellar Technologies in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Interstellar Technologies is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aerospace companies of Japan, Commercial launch service providers, Private spaceflight companies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Interstellar Technologies outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Interstellar Technologies in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Interstellar Technologies means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Interstellar Technologies out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Interstellar Technologies in simple terms?

Why does Interstellar Technologies matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Interstellar Technologies?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Interstellar Technologies.