Japan’s Ispace signs deal with SpaceX to use Starship for lunar cargo delivery
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The Japanese lunar lander startup Ispace yesterday announced it has signed an agreement with SpaceX to use its Starship lunar lander to transport cargo to the Moon’s surface.
The Ispace graphic to the right shows the company’s proposed “Mobile Cargo System” on the Moon after deployment from Starship.
In preparation for the new business offering, Ispace has secured 500 kilograms of payload capacity on Starship, scheduled for launch as early as 2030. Ispace is offering global customers with relatively small payload delivery needs, weighing 500 kilograms or less, a comprehensive service to integrate, transport and operate their payloads on the Moon.
As part of the integration process, Ispace will assess each customer’s payload requirements and implement the quality control necessary for lunar transportation. Ispace will then integrate multiple payloads into the dedicated “Mobile Cargo System” in development by the company and provide services, including interface coordination with Starship as part of the system. Upon landing on the Moon, Ispace aims to provide operational support through the “Mobile Cargo System” to ensure the smooth deployment of payloads onto the lunar surface, their movement across the lunar surface, and access to other infrastructure.
Ispace is clearly hoping this cargo system will be of interest to NASA for its Moonbase project. It is also something that will appeal to other commercial customers who want to get a payload to the Moon cheaply.
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