27 Mar, 2026
Plans to Launch Lunar Connect Service Utilizing its Own Lunar Orbiting Satellites
TOKYO–March 27, 2026–ispace, inc. (ispace) (TOKYO: 9348), a global lunar exploration company, announced that it plans to launch a new business initiative Lunar Connect Service involving communication, positioning, observation, and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) for customers seeking to engage in the cislunar economy.
The initiative is intended to capture potential demand driven by plans for lunar infrastructure development under the U.S.-led Artemis Accords and an executive order promoting the establishment of a sustained lunar base by 2030. ispace’s new program is expected to provide critical services utilizing its proposed lunar satellite network to provide stable communications and positioning, extensive lunar observation, and SSA, to support expanding lunar activities. The announcement was made at a press conference on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
Through two lunar landing missions conducted in 2022 and 2025, ispace has already demonstrated capability to deliver and deploy spacecraft into lunar orbit, as well as the capability to operate in lunar orbit. As part of the new service, ispace expects to deploy at least five lunar orbiting satellites by 2030, which will serve as critical infrastructure for the communications system.
Critical to the new business will be the development of ground station services on Earth capable of stably receiving large-capacity communications and data from the Moon. ispace has reacehd an agreement with KDDI Corporation, a major ground station provider in Japan, to jointly explore the operation and utilization of these ground stations.
KDDI will provide ispace with the necessary technical and business information regarding ground station functions and the nature of communication services on the Moon, and the two companies plan to work together to develop future plans.
KDDI was selected in November 2024, by Japan’s Space Strategy Fund as a contractor for the “Development and Demonstration of a Moon-Earth Communication System (Feasibility Study)” project. KDDI is conducting the basic design of the ground station and ground station network for this system, as well as a feasibility assessment for establishing a lunar mobile communication environment. Moving forward, the two companies plan to discuss specific roles and responsibilities for jointly providing the Lunar Connect Service.
Overview of the “Lunar Connect Service” Business
The business concept is expected to provide the following services to customers operating on the lunar surface and in lunar orbit by utilizing assets such as lunar orbiting satellites.
Communication Service: A service providing stable, high-speed communication capabilities across a wide range of lunar and lunar orbit domains, including surface to surface, between lunar surface and lunar orbit, and between lunar surface and Earth.
Lunar Positioning Service: A service providing position information (latitude, longitude, time, etc.) with a specified accuracy to various payloads operating on the lunar surface.
The services will comply with the standards of “LunaNet,” the international framework for lunar communication and positioning systems led by NASA/ESA/JAXA. We aim to ensure interoperability with the communication and positioning constellation concepts being pursued by various nations within the LunaNet framework, thereby complementing and enhancing these national initiatives with private-sector services.
Further enhancements of the following services utilizing the lunar orbiting satellite are expected:
Observation Service: A service that captures images of designated locations on the Moon or provides data from continuous observation over a set period.
SSA Service: A service that observes and monitors the lunar surface, lunar orbit, and outer space over a set period, analyzes the presence, size, type, orbit, and operational status of objects in space, and provides that data.
Estimated Market Size and Targeted Operations Date
Based on internal estimates, the market for the Lunar Connect Service and data services is expected to grow to at least $3 billion USD (450 billion yen) annually by the 2040s. As a first step, ispace has reached an agreement with U.S.-based Argo Space Corp., for a delivery of one satellite to lunar orbit using an in-space transportation vehicle. ispace aims to place the satellite into lunar orbit and commence communication services as early as 2027 (ispace new Mission 2.5). Customers for these services will be announced once agreements are finalized. The Lunar Connect Service business plan expects deployment of at least five proprietary lunar orbiting satellites by 2030 and expects the sequential deployment of more advanced and multi-layered services utilizing multiple satellites.
As part of ispace’s vision of building the cislunar economy, ispace expects to accelerate the launch and realization of the new Lunar Connect Services business utilizing lunar orbit assets, in addition to its existing businesses involving transportation services to the lunar surface and lunar orbit, as well as lunar data services.
Statement of Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace
“Significant momentum is building as we approach an era of renewed human activity on the lunar surface. With lunar development rapidly expanding, particularly in the United States, accelerating the development of space infrastructure—including communications, positioning, observation, and SSA—to support these activities is critical,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace. “The new business we announced today, utilizing our own lunar orbiting satellites, is an initiative that looks beyond the lunar surface to encompass the construction of total infrastructure across the entire cislunar space. In a future where activities in lunar orbit and on the lunar surface become increasingly active, ispace aims to capitalize on these developments by providing services that reliably connect players in the industry. Furthermore, through integrated business development encompassing transportation services, data services, and our newest Lunar Connect services, we are building the cislunar economy.”
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About ispace, inc. (https://ispace-inc.com)
ispace, a global lunar resource development company with the vision, “Expand our planet. Expand our future.”, specializes in designing and building lunar landers and rovers. ispace aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon. The company has business entities in Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States with more than 300 employees worldwide. For more information, visit: www.ispace-inc.com and follow us on X: @ispace_inc.