Agreement to explore bulk procurement and long-term supply arrangements to enable high-frequency and flexible execution of ispace’s lunar missions
TOKYO—November 12, 2026—ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, announced today that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nammo (U.K.) Limited to explore long-term strategic cooperation in spacecraft propulsion procurement, manufacturing, and related commercial opportunities.
The agreement establishes a framework to explore long-term commercial cooperation, including bulk purchasing arrangements, procurement frameworks, and coordinated production planning. Through these strategic initiatives, the companies aim to improve cost competitiveness, delivery performance, and supply-chain resilience as ispace advances its lunar transportation capabilities. By enhancing the ability to provide flexible lunar landing missions that meet customer needs, ispace aims to expand future business opportunities and drive consistent revenue growth.
Computer-generated image of Nammo Main Thrusters on the M3 ULTRA lander
The propulsion engines required for the development of lunar landers, including ispace’s ULTRA lander, occupy a unique market niche: they are larger than those used for typical large-scale satellites, yet smaller than those used for standard launch vehicles. Consequently, there are very few suppliers for these engines globally. Furthermore, these propulsion engines are “long-lead-time” components, meaning the period from order placement to procurement spans years; this makes it exceptionally challenging to secure them in a timely manner to align with development schedules. As the number of lunar landing missions is expected to grow worldwide, the ability to procure critical propulsion engines—the core of any lander—without delay is essential. It is a vital prerequisite for providing frequent and reliable lunar landing missions that can flexibly meet the diverse needs of our customers.
Nammo has long been a manufacturer of propulsion engines for both Earth Orbiting and exploration missions throughout the Solar system, including the design and supply of the main engine for Argonaut, a lunar lander currently under development by ESA. Nammo’s LEROS 4 engine has a proven track record, having been used in a recent lunar landing mission where it delivered dependable performance. Recognizing its extensive spacecraft propulsion heritage, ispace has selected Nammo’s LEROS 4 and LEROS 2b as the main engine hardware for integration into its ULTRA lunar landers. ispace has also procured attitude control thruster hardware from Nammo, further expanding the application of Nammo’s propulsion technologies in its spacecraft development activities, with the objective of enhancing system reliability and contributing to mission success probability of the ULTRA lander.
Building on this existing supplier relationship, the MoU also brings together ispace-EUROPE S.A. and ispace technologies U.S., inc. as signatories, with the aim of supporting current and future spacecraft programs across Japan, Europe, the United States, and other international markets.
By combining ispace’s lunar spacecraft development and operational experience with Nammo’s propulsion expertise, the companies aim to strengthen their long-term partnership and establish a reliable, commercially competitive supply chain to support high-frequency and flexible execution of future lunar missions and expand future business opportunities to drive consistent revenue growth.
Statement of Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace, inc.
“Building a sustainable lunar economy requires not only advanced spacecraft technologies, but also reliable and cost-competitive supply chains that can support missions over the long term. By expanding our cooperation with Nammo, we aim to strengthen our propulsion procurement strategy, further improve production efficiency, and establish a foundation for future lunar missions across our global operations,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO, ispace, inc.
Comments from Robert Selby, Vice President of Nammo Space, (U.K.) Limited.
“As lunar exploration transitions from demonstration missions to sustained operational activity, dependable access to flight-proven propulsion systems becomes increasingly critical. This agreement reflects our shared commitment to building a resilient, scalable, and commercially competitive supply chain that enables more frequent and flexible lunar missions. We are proud to strengthen our long-standing relationship with ispace and look forward to supporting their ambitious lunar roadmap with reliable propulsion solutions that have been proven across both Earth-orbiting and deep-space missions.”
About ispace, inc. (https://ispace-inc.com)
https://ispace-inc.com/https://x.com/ispace_inc ispace, a global lunar resource development company with the vision, “Expand our planet. Expand our future.”, specializes in designing and building lunar landers, rovers, orbital transfer vehicles, and relay satellites. ispace aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost lunar transportation and related services. The company has business entities in Japan, Luxembourg, the United States, and Saudi Arabia, with more than 300 employees worldwide. For more information, visit: www.ispace-inc.com and follow us on X: @ispace_inc.
About Nammo (https://www.nammo.com)
Nammo is a leading international aerospace and defence company operating in 23 countries and employing approximately 4,200 people worldwide. For more than 35 years, Nammo has been a trusted provider of spacecraft propulsion solutions for commercial, institutional, and exploration missions. The company designs, develops, qualifies, and manufactures propulsion systems, rocket engines, thrusters and components for launch vehicles, satellites, lunar landers, and deep-space exploration missions. Nammo propulsion technologies have supported more than 100 space missions, including pioneering exploration missions throughout the Solar System. With dedicated space operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway, Nammo continues to deliver reliable, high-performance propulsion solutions for some of the world’s most ambitious space programmes. For more information, visit: www.nammo.com and follow them on LinkedIn: @nammouk