AxelSpace Featured in NASA's State-of-the-Art Small Spacecraft Technology Report

AxelSpace Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yuya Nakamura; hereinafter "the company"), a company developing and operating small satellites to enable a society where anyone can utilize space, announces that information regarding its spacecraft bus system has been included in the "State-of-the-Art of Small Spacecraft Technology" report issued by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (hereinafter "NASA").

A spacecraft bus system is a standardized platform that provides common satellite functions excluding the payload, such as power supply, attitude control, communication, data processing, thermal control, and propulsion—essential capabilities for satellite operations.

This report is periodically published by NASA to evaluate and organize cutting-edge small spacecraft technologies and provide relevant information to mission designers, project managers, engineers, and students.

AxelSpace has been continuously featured since the 2022 edition in the "Hosted Payload Service (Hosted Orbital Service)" category, which offers end-to-end services for satellites capable of hosting payloads—from development and launch to on-orbit operations.

Furthermore, in the 2026 edition, the company has been newly included in the "Spacecraft Bus Procurement" category, which features providers of spacecraft bus systems. AxelSpace is the only Japanese company listed as a provider of spacecraft bus systems designed for launch as secondary payloads on rockets using an ESPA (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter) ring or similar structure.

State-of-the-Art of Small Spacecraft Technology (NASA): https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/soa-2026.pdf?emrc=12c9ca

※1 Payload: Defined in the report as equipment or instruments mounted on a satellite. ※2 Secondary satellites launched alongside primary payloads. ※3 The development of this general-purpose satellite bus system was supported by the following subsidy program from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), a national research and development agency: "Research and Development Project for Building a Space Industry Technology Information Infrastructure (Support for Development and Demonstration of General-Purpose Buses for Ultra-Small Satellites) / Demonstration Project for Ultra-Small Satellites Toward Realizing One-Stop Services for Satellite Constellations" (2023–2026; 2021–2022 implemented directly by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry).

AxelSpace's end-to-end small satellite service, "AxelLiner," packages satellite design and manufacturing, launch arrangement, and on-orbit operation support to assist customers in achieving their mission objectives.

About AxelLiner: https://www.axelspace.com/ja/services/

Moving forward, the company will continue to support diverse space missions for domestic and international customers through a wide range of space utilization services, including its spacecraft bus systems.

About AxelSpace Under the vision of "Space within Your Reach—making space an ordinary place," AxelSpace has been pioneering the development of small satellites since its founding in 2008. Leveraging proprietary technologies in satellite design, manufacturing, and on-orbit operations, the company offers satellite development and operation services "AxelLiner" to support customers' space missions, and Earth observation data services "AxelGlobe" through its own optical satellite constellation. These solutions meet the diverse needs of various industries. Through these business activities, AxelSpace aims to realize a society where anyone can access and utilize space.

AxelSpace Inc. Address: Clip Nihonbashi Building, 3-3-3 Nihonbashi Honcho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Representative Director: Yuya Nakamura Founded: August 2008 https://www.axelspace.com/ja/ Keywords: