Japanese startup Space One plans first rocket launch in February

Smaller, low-cost delivery vehicles expected to ignite satellite industry

Space One will use its Space Port Kii launch pad, seen here in Japan's Wakayama prefecture, for the February launch. (Photo by Arisa Moriyama)

RYOSUKE MATSUZOE, TSUYOSHI TAMEHIRO and MASAYOSHI UENO, Nikkei staff writers

December 30, 2022 09:00 JST

TOKYO/WAKAYAMA, Japan -- Japanese startup Space One will conduct its maiden rocket launch at the end of February, the company said as it unveiled the country's first private-sector launch pad.

Space Port Kii is a 15-hectare site in Kushimoto, Wakayama prefecture, south of Osaka that houses a tower for assembling and inspecting rockets as well as a control building.