Japan Startup to Launch 10 Small Satellites with U.S. Firm

Tokyo, June 18 (Jiji Press)--Japanese satellite startup Synspective Inc. said Tuesday it has agreed with Rocket Lab USA Inc. to launch 10 small satellites by 2027.

The deal is part of the Tokyo-based firm's project to build a satellite constellation to enable near-real-time observation of any part of the globe, which is expected to contribute to quick disaster response efforts.

Synspective makes synthetic aperture radar satellites, which can capture high-resolution images of Earth terrain and objects on the planet even in nighttime or bad weather.

The company has been offering SAR image analysis services to government institutions and private companies chiefly for use in dealing with natural disasters. In the wake of the Noto Peninsula earthquake on Jan. 1, it made related satellite images available to the public for free.

So far, four SAR satellites have been launched exclusively by Rocket Lab. Synspective aims to send into orbit 30 satellites in total by the second half of the 2020s to set up the low-altitude constellation.

"We will continue to build an analytics platform that enables visualization and analysis of global environmental and economic activities, starting with constructing a SAR satellite constellation," Motoyuki Arai, Synspective founder and CEO, said at an agreement-signing ceremony in Tokyo.

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