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TWO PROJECTS ACCEPTED FOR JAXA'S CALL FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS (RFP)

January 26th, 2024 by Nao Kurosawa

Innovative Space Carrier Inc.(Chuo-ku, Tokyo, CEOKojiro Hatada) is a start-up company with the vision of Creating an era when everyone has access to spaceand aims to realize a transportation system that makes space reusablepossible.

We are pleased to announce that we have submitted two research proposals to JAXA's "Innovative Research and Development Program for Future Space Transportation Systems, Third Call for Research Proposals (RFP: Request for Proposal)", which have been accepted.

WE WILL CONDUCT TWO JOINT RESEARCH PROJECTS WITH JAXA: "RESEARCH ON THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING OF LIGHTWEIGHT LANDING GEAR FOR HORIZONTAL LANDING SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS" AND "RESEARCH ON THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING OF LIGHTWEIGHT AIRFRAME FOR HORIZONTAL LANDING SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS.

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Adoption Summary

  • Call for Applications : Secretariat of Innovative Research and Development Program for Future Space Transportation Systems, Research and Development Department, National Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
  • Proposed Project: Innovative Research and Development Program for Future Space Transportation Systems 3rd Call for Research Proposals
    (RFP: Request for Proposal)
  • Number of adopted projects: 2
  • Research Topic: Design and manufacture of lightweight landing gear for horizontal landing space transportation systems
  • 　　　　　Research on design and manufacturing of lightweight airframe for horizontal landing space transportation systems
  • Implementation：Collaborative research
  • Research Category: Challenge Type (Research to deepen the applicability of challenging technologies to research problems)
  • Research period: up to 6 months (scheduled for August from March 2024)
  • Research expenses : Up to 3 million yen per project
  • Related information: https://www.kenkai.jaxa.jp/research/kakushinyusou/request03/rfp.html

CO-CREATION WITH JAXA FROM 2022

Creating an era when everyone has access to spaceAs of January 2024, we have formed partnerships with more than 40 companies (organizations and institutions).

FROM 2022 TO SEPTEMBER 2023, JAXA HAS BEEN ENGAGED IN CO-CREATION ACTIVITIES WITH JAXA IN THE "CONCEPT CO-CREATION OPPORTUNITY FOR "HIGH FREQUENCY REUSABLEFLIGHT TYPE SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM" TO IDENTIFY NECESSARY TECHNICAL ISSUES AND TO CONSIDER DRASTIC COST REDUCTION AND HUMANSPACE TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES.

ACCELERATED CO-CREATION WITH JAXA. ALSO CONDUCTED JOINT RESEARCH WITH TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

The RFP (Request for Proposal) will promote joint research on the technical issues of designing and manufacturing "lightweight landing gear" and "lightweight airframe," following the "Conceptual Co-Creation Activity for 'High Frequency reusableFlight Type Space Transportation System'" that has been conducted since September 2022. We will continue our joint research on the design and manufacturing of "lightweight landing gear" and "lightweight aircraft".
In research on "lightweight airframe," we will also collaborate with Hiroshi Ogasawara Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science.

■Outline of Affiliated Research Institutes
Name of University Tokyo University of Science Faculty of Science and Technology Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Laboratory Hiroshi Ogasawara Laboratory
URL https://www.rs.tus.ac.jp/ogaken_hp3636/index.html

OUR STRENGTHS IN RFPS

WITH RESPECT TO RFPS, WE BELIEVE WE CAN LEVERAGE THE FOLLOWING STRENGTHS

  1. THE APPLICANT SHOULD BE ABLE TO CONDUCT THE STUDY FROM A BROAD PERSPECTIVE FROM THE SYSTEM LEVEL, DRAWING ON THE EXPERIENCE OF "CO-CREATION OF THE CONCEPT FOR THE HIGH FREQUENCY REUSABLEFLIGHT TYPE SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM" WITH JAXA.
  2. The aircraft we are considering and designing is a small, lightweight, easy-to-maintain aircraft for high-frequency operation, making it a good subject for this research, which aims to study weight reduction.
  3. The "tripropellant combustion system" using three propellants (hydrogen, methane, and oxygen), which we succeeded in developing for the first time in Japan, allows us to design a more flexible center-of-gravity balance than the two-tank system by properly arranging the three propellant tanks.
  4. TO BE ABLE TO ACCELERATE THE SPEED OF STUDIES BY UTILIZING P4SD, A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM FOR AGILE DEVELOPMENT THAT IS CURRENTLY BEING DEVELOPED BY OUR COMPANY, AND TO BE ABLE TO PROCEED WITH STUDIES WITH A SENSE OF SPEED.
  5. SINCE WE ARE AIMING TO DEVELOP HUMANSPACE TRANSPORTATION REUSABLEAIRCRAFT, THERE IS A PROSPECT THAT BY UTILIZING THE RESULTS OF THE RFP, WE WILL BE ABLE TO FURTHER DEEPEN THE STUDY AND DRIVE TO MANUFACTURING AND REALIZATION IN THE NEXT STEP AND BEYOND.

KOJIRO HATATA CEOPRESIDENT AND CEO COMMENTS

ALTHOUGH WE ARE A START-UP COMPANY THAT HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR ONLY ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF, WE HAVE BEEN PRODUCING RESULTS WITH PRECISION AND SPEED. LAST DECEMBER, WE SUCCEEDED IN JAPAN'S FIRST "TRIPROPELLANT METHOD" COMBUSTION TEST, AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE CONFIRMED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR PROPRIETARY "P4SD" RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM.

THE FACT THAT TWO OF OUR PROPOSALS WERE SELECTED IN JAXA'S RFP WAS ALSO AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUR DEVELOPMENT APPROACH.

With the cooperation of many partners, including various companies, universities and other research institutions, and public organizations, we will continue to work toward the realization of future space transportation systems at an unprecedented pace.

We want to work together with individuals who want to work together with us! Whether you are an individual who wants to work with us, or a corporation who wants to collaborate with us as a business partner, let's challenge this project together to make this dream come true! and corporations who want to collaborate with us as business partners, let's challenge this project together to make a dream-like future a reality.

We have a job in front of us that you should bet your life on. We look forward to hearing from you.

We are actively recruiting human resources!

We want to go to space from Japan.
We challenge you.
Aerospace technology x Knowledge of different industries x Backcast thinking

Create new industries with an eye on the future.
Do work that is worth the challenge of your life.
Click here for the recruitment page:
https://innovative-space-carrier.co.jp/careers/

For business partnerships and other inquiries, click here
https://innovative-space-carrier.co.jp/contact/

Proposed Research Proposals Details

Research Project 1] Design and Manufacture of Lightweight Landing Gear for Horizontal Landing Space Transportation Systems

■Background and Purpose of the Study
Horizontal landing space transportation systems are considered to be superior in terms of operation and cost because they can use existing airports and operate in an aircraft-like manner. On the other hand, the descent and landing equipment used for horizontal landing is heavy, generally about 8% of that used for aircraft.
Foreign space transports have taken measures to reduce weight, such as using a sled for the front landing gear. In the single-stage space transportation vehicle (SSTO) that we are considering, a system to reduce the weight of the landing gear is also necessary. The purpose of this research is to establish a system concept to reduce the weight of landing gear without compromising durability and to improve the feasibility of humanhorizontal landing space transportation systems.

■Research Contents
There are four major factors that determine the weight of accretion equipment: the applied load, strength design, leg assembly structure, and materials used. There are several issues to be addressed, such as load reduction, structural optimization design, and application of sledges to these factors. In addition, we will accelerate the speed of our studies by utilizing the P4SD (research and development platform) that we are currently developing.

Research Project 2] Research on Design and Manufacturing of Lightweight Airframe for Horizontal Landing Type Space Transportation System

■Background and Purpose of the Study
Horizontal landing space transportation systems are considered to be superior in terms of operation and cost because they can use existing airports and operate in an aircraft-like manner. On the other hand, the increased weight of the heat-resistant tiles and the difficulty of controlling the airframe are problems for the space shuttle. The single-stage space transportation vehicle (SSTO) under study at MHI must also be designed to balance weight reduction, heat load reduction, and flight control.
The purpose of this study is to establish a system concept for a lightweight airframe based on the humanhorizontal landing tripropellant SSTO reusableaircraft under consideration at our company, and to improve the feasibility of the humanhorizontal landing space transportation system.

■ Research
Quantify the weight reduction effect of the lightweighting technologies we are considering and the advantage to the center of gravity characteristics of loading three or more tanks.

Weight reduction technologies: tripropellant, altitude compensation, airframe weight reduction by CFRP, etc., air-addition, etc.

Effects of weight reduction through aerodynamic stability and flight control: Quantification of advantage to center of gravity characteristics by loading 3 or more tanks as tripropellant Quantification of heat load and weight reduction study of TPS, etc.