ElevationSpace Signs Basic Agreement with Luxembourg's Space Cargo Unlimited for On-Orbit Demonstration and Experiments

ElevationSpace Inc. (Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Representative Director & CEO: Ryōhei Kobayashi, hereinafter "ElevationSpace") has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Space Cargo Unlimited (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Co-founder & CEO: Nicolas Gaume, hereinafter "SCU"), a company with a solid track record in Europe for on-orbit demonstration and testing utilizing microgravity environments in space. The agreement aims to integrate and install SCU's autonomous payload operation platform, "BentoBox," onto ElevationSpace's free-flyer type on-orbit demonstration and recovery satellite.

Background and Objectives of the Partnership

In fields such as drug discovery and new material development, the microgravity environment of space offers experimental conditions unattainable on Earth. However, a significant hurdle exists: companies must develop their own experimental equipment capable of withstanding the harsh conditions of space, including thermal fluctuations, vibrations, and radiation. SCU's "BentoBox" provides a standardized package for on-orbit demonstration and experimentation. By utilizing this, companies can send their experimental samples into space without needing specialized expertise in space technology.

SCU has a strong track record in European space utilization, including the successful commercial research program "Mission WISE," which involved staying on the International Space Station (ISS) for 12 months with wine and grapevines to verify the effects of weightlessness.

By combining SCU's BentoBox with ElevationSpace's core strength in lift-induced technology, it becomes possible to safely return and recover samples, particularly those sensitive to vibrations and impacts such as drug discovery-related materials, to a targeted location on Earth.

By aligning the design to accommodate BentoBox on ElevationSpace's free-flyer type on-orbit demonstration and recovery satellite, the need for complex custom designs and pre-integration verification for each user will be eliminated. This will shorten lead times, reduce costs, and build infrastructure that makes space accessible to everyone.

Future Developments

Based on this agreement, both companies will define specific requirements requested by customers. ElevationSpace will consider the integration of BentoBox in future spacecraft development, and SCU will consider developing a BentoBox optimized for future spacecraft. In the future, the companies aim to realize regular joint missions at least once a year.

From left: Ryōhei Kobayashi, Representative Director & CEO of ElevationSpace, and Nicolas Gaume, CEO of Space Cargo Unlimited.

Comment from Ryōhei Kobayashi, Representative Director & CEO of ElevationSpace

I am extremely honored to announce our collaboration with SCU, a company that has established a solid position in the field of on-orbit demonstration and experimentation in Europe. Combining our atmospheric re-entry technology with SCU's BentoBox will lower the barriers to space utilization. To achieve our mission of "a world where everyone can live in space," we need pathways for all terrestrial industries to access space. Together with a strong partner like SCU, we will vigorously drive the construction of this infrastructure.

Comment from Nicolas Gaume, CEO of Space Cargo Unlimited

We are now at the dawn of the microgravity era for commercial use. As more industries recognize the value of space, the challenge is no longer to prove "what can be done in space," but to provide it as a reliable, repeatable, and commercially viable service.

By combining Space Cargo Unlimited's demonstration and manufacturing platform in microgravity with ElevationSpace's innovative atmospheric re-entry and recovery technology, we can safely bring delicate payloads, including those in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields, back to Earth. Through this collaboration, we aim to build a stronger foundation supporting the next generation of commercial space services.

About Space Cargo Unlimited

Space Cargo Unlimited is a European space company pioneering manufacturing in space. With unique expertise and a proven track record in microgravity research, the company develops and operates "BentoBox," an autonomous, modular platform that makes the microgravity environment accessible to researchers and industries. By providing integrated services from payload preparation to orbital deployment, the company is opening a new era for applied research utilizing microgravity and the development of high-value space manufacturing products that bring innovative benefits to Earth.

Company Name: Space Cargo Unlimited Location: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Representative: Nicolas Gaume, Co-founder & CEO Website: https://space-cu.com/

Overview of ElevationSpace

ElevationSpace is a startup company with the vision of "building a transportation network connecting people and things in orbit." Centered on Japan's world-renowned small re-entry technology, the company is developing transport services from space to Earth. In collaboration with Tohoku University and JAXA, ElevationSpace is developing small spacecraft to transport materials researched and manufactured in the microgravity environment of space back to Earth.

The International Space Station (ISS), which has been widely used for everything from basic scientific experiments to industrial applications, is scheduled to cease operations at the end of 2030 due to factors such as its structural lifespan. Ensuring a continuous "space" for utilizing the space environment is a challenge. Looking ahead to the "post-ISS era," ElevationSpace aims to provide the free-flyer type on-orbit demonstration and recovery satellite "ELS-R" and the high-frequency recovery capsule "ELS-RS" from space stations. "ELS-R" is Japan's first service that conducts experiments and demonstrations utilizing the microgravity environment using unmanned small satellites and returns them to Earth to customers.

Company Name: ElevationSpace Inc. Location: 9F, Ichigo Kakyo-in Bldg., 2-1-65 Kakyo-in, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi 980-0013 Establishment: February 2021 Representative: Ryōhei Kobayashi, Representative Director & CEO Website: https://elevation-space.com/ Business Activities: Space environment utilization and recovery platform business, high-frequency cargo transport business from manned facilities, Co-Creation business.

Concept Movie Illustrating the "ELS-R" Service

https://youtu.be/_2m_GXSDvdI

We are actively strengthening recruitment in various positions. (Recruitment of engineers has started in Tohoku, as well as in Tokyo and Nagoya!)

Would you like to work in "spacecraft and space development" at a private company aiming to acquire Japan's only "atmospheric re-entry and recovery technology"?

ElevationSpace is strengthening recruitment in various positions for future business expansion. If you resonate with our mission to "create a world where everyone can live in space and enrich the future of humanity," please apply through the recruitment page below.

▼ Recruitment Page Here https://elevation-space.com/recruit

Head Office (Sendai): Ichigo Kakyo-in Bldg., 2-1-65 Kakyo-in, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi Fukushima Factory: Mitsubishi Warehouse MLC SPACE LAB, 311 Kayahama Kitayachi, Haramachi Ward, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Tokyo Branch: Kanda Takagi Bldg. BIRTH KANDA, 1-17-1 Kanda Nishikicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nagoya Base: STATION Ai, 1-2-32 Tsurumai, Showa-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi