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Courtesy of JAXA/NASA The International Space Station
The Yomiuri Shimbun
7:00 JST, January 21, 2025
The science and technology ministry is drafting a policy in which the private sector will participate in the building and management of the successor to the International Space Station.
The next space station is being developed by a U.S. company.
The current ISS was an initiative of the United States and was completed in 2011 but is expected to cease operations in 2030 due to aging.
The United States plans to have the private sector build and manage the next space station. The Japanese government is also considering having a module, similar to the Kibo Japanese experiment module on the ISS, be built and operated by the private sector on the next space station. The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry hopes to privatize Japan’s manned base of operations and expand its space business.
The ISS is jointly operated by five space agencies from Japan, the United States, Europe, Canada and Russia, including Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and NASA, and managed with funds contributed by each country. However, the United States plans to turn to private companies to build the next space station.
U.S. firm Axiom Space Inc. has already signed a contract with NASA to connect its facility to the ISS. Axiom Space is moving forward with a plan to develop and operate the facility as a commercial space station.
The draft policy specifies how Japan will be involved with the next space station. According to the draft, “the private sector will have such responsibilities as managing [the new space station], and JAXA will support its use.”
JAXA is currently responsible to the management and maintenance of the ISS and serves as the point of contact for its commercial use. However, the government will select a Japanese private-sector company to be the point of contact for the next space station.
When JAXA, research institutes or other companies plan to use the ISS, they will have to contact the next station’s point of contact.
The ministry’s draft policy states that private-sector-led commercial activities will be developed and expanded through the participation of companies in the next space station’s management.
Corporate interest is strong, as evidenced by the capital alliance between Mitsui & Co. and Axiom Space.
The government aims to double the market size of the space industry from ¥4 trillion in 2020 to ¥8 trillion by the early 2030s.
The ministry aims to revitalize Japan’s space business by expanding private-sector use of the next space station.
