Activity Report for the Space Strategy Fund Project (March 2026 Edition)

SPACE COTAN Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Taiki Town, Hiroo-gun, Hokkaido; Representative Director, President, and CEO: Yoshinori Odagiri), which operates the commercial spaceport 'Hokkaido Spaceport (HOSPO)' open to the private sector, was selected in January 2025 for the Space Strategy Fund's technology development theme: 'Ground-Based Foundational Technologies for Future Transportation: Development of Ground-Based Foundational Technologies to Realize High-Frequency Launches, etc.', and is advancing the research and development of launch site foundational technologies aimed at high-frequency rocket launches. We would like to announce the following main activities as of March 2026. ## ① Quarterly Progress Report Meeting (Q3, FY2025) Quarterly Progress Report Meeting On March 3, we held the Q3 FY2025 progress report meeting at the Taiki Town Economic Center (with an online option). - PO (Program Officer): Naohiko Kohtake - PO Assistants: Naoko Yamazaki, Yoshinori Ueda, Hiroshi Ogasawara, Yoshiaki Tsuda - Officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) - Researchers from the representative organization and collaborating organizations Considering that a Stage-Gate (SG) is planned in about one year, the purpose of this meeting was to intensively discuss the research status of each collaborating organization. First, SPACE COTAN, as the representative organization, reported on the study status of the overall HOSPO system (study of operational flow, modeling of the overall system), followed by detailed study status reports (subsystem design specifications, verification plans, etc.) from each collaborating organization. There were questions and comments from the PO, PO Assistants, and JAXA officials regarding the implementation and verification plans leading up to the SG and maximizing outcomes, leading to a lively discussion on how to proceed in the future. The next meeting is scheduled to be held around June of this year. ## ② Workshop Held by Participating Organizations Workshop On March 2, the day before the quarterly report meeting, a workshop bringing together collaborating and cooperating organizations was held at the Taiki Town Economic Center. By further strengthening the cooperation of each organization through this activity, we aim to effectively integrate technologies and knowledge related to the launch site to improve the overall function of the launch site, rather than just developing individual element technologies under the Space Strategy Fund. This time, SPACE COTAN explained the global policy trends surrounding launch sites and the details of studies on what a shared launch site should look like. Furthermore, Jamss (Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation), a cooperating organization, gave a lecture on the evolution of the role of launch sites tied to the history of rocket development and the concept of safety that should be shared as a common understanding in all technology developments.