Japanese space tech startup Letara expands beyond satellite thrusters with $16M

Japan is pouringbillions of dollarsinto its burgeoning space industry andeasing restrictionson defense exports, efforts designed to build a homegrown aerospace sector filled with domestic startups that have a global reach.

Letara, a Sapporo-based startup developing hybrid propulsion systems for spacecraft, is looking to capitalize on that push. After focusing on hybrid thrusters for small satellites, the company now plans to develop large rocket systems for the space, defense, and security markets, company’s co-CEO Shota Hirai told TechCrunch.

26亿日元（约合1600万美元）的新资金推动了这一扩张，该初创公司试图将多年的学术研究和演示转化为商业业务。本轮融资由Headline Asia、JIC Venture Growth Investment和Incubate Fund共同领投，能源公司NES (Networked Energy Services) Corporation等战略投资者跟投。丰田合成（Toyoda Gosei），丰田集团橡胶和塑料汽车零部件供应商； Frontier Innovations是一家由Frontier Innovations管理并得到日本宇宙航空研究开发机构 (JAXA) 支持的投资基金。

“With this round, we will go beyond demonstrating that thruster in space,” Hirai said. “We plan to explore a much wider set of use cases across both the space domain and the defense and security domain, and to develop and propose hybrid rocket systems suited to each of them.”

Letara技术的核心是混合火箭设计，使其固体燃料与燃烧所需的液体氧化剂分开。使用塑料和橡胶等廉价且广泛使用的材料作为固体燃料。该公司开发了一种专有的制造工艺，可以混合、成型和压缩这些材料，以确保它们可靠地点燃并持续燃烧。最终的结果是，与通常使用昂贵的石蜡的传统混合火箭相比，该系统可以提供更大的推力，同时减少浪费。

平井说，其目的是解决迄今为止限制混合动力推进使用的三个问题：产生足够的推力、保持性能和控制燃烧。

There is considerable opportunity if Letara is successful. The global hybrid rocket propulsion market is projected to expand to $2.6 billion by 2032, up from $848 million in 2024, at a CAGR of 15% — a trajectory that points to growing demand for the technology.

尽管如此，莱塔拉并不是唯一一个追求这一目标的人。许多公司正在开发混合火箭技术，包括日本的星际技术公司、中国的银河能源公司、韩国的InnoSpace公司和新加坡的赤道太空公司都在推进混合火箭技术。德国初创公司HyImpulse和澳大利亚Gilmour Space也在研究混合火箭技术，而其他美国公司正在开发具有竞争力的推进和发射系统。

The idea for Letara emerged while co-CEOs Landon Thomas Kamps and Hirai were researching rocket propulsion at Hokkaido University. They believed the relative safety and simplicity of hybrid rockets could make the technology useful beyond traditional space programs, particularly as private companies expand into the industry.

The company’s ambitions have grown along with the market. When Letara was spun out of Hokkaido University in 2020, it was focused on developing satellite thrusters.

Since then, the global propulsion market has become more crowded as demand for launch and defense capabilities has grown. Letara is now pursuing opportunities in defense contracts and launch services, in an effort to position itself to compete not just with other Japanese startups, but with companies around the world.

“Large spacecraft need high thrust propulsion as well, especially when they need to go from LEO (low earth orbit) to GEO (geostationary orbit) and get through the high radiation Van Allen belt quickly,” said Hirai. “And of course, there is insane growing demand for launch vehicles.”

Letara的目标客户是卫星制造商和运营商、发射公司和政府。该公司将商业卫星视为其最大的太空推进市场，而政府对火箭系统的需求正在增长，尤其是在日本。该公司表示，它已经赢得了火箭和卫星公司以及日本政府的订单，但没有透露这些合同的价值。

Its next major milestone is an in-orbit firing test with an overseas partner, which Letara sees as a key step toward commercialization. It will also need to establish a repeatable manufacturing process, backed by quality controls, and a reliable supply chain for fuel and tanks that can support production at scale.

When asked whether recycled plastic could eventually be used as fuel, Letara said it was “very much a possibility” with its hybrid technology, though more testing and development would be needed.

Note: Its strategic investor, Frontier Innovations, is not a Greece-based IT firm, but rather an investment fund managed by Frontier Innovations and backed by JAXA, Japan’s space agency.