AxelLiner Laboratory to Conduct Its First In-Orbit Demonstration Mission

~ Testing ASPINA's Reaction Wheel on GRUS-3 ~

Axelspace Corporation (“Axelspace”) announced that it plans to conduct an in-orbit demonstration(“IOD”) of the reaction wheel jointly developed with ASPINA Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd. (ASPINA) on one of its GRUS-3 microsatellites. This marks the first application of AxelLiner Laboratory (“AL Lab”), Axelspace’s IOD service for space components.

ASPINA and Axelspace have jointly developed this reaction wheel for 100kg-class satellites since 2020. Despite being critical components for satellite attitude control, reaction wheels typically involve long lead times and high costs. Both companies have aimed to meet the quality requirements for microsatellites while achieving a significantly shortened lead time of just two to three months from order to shipment.

The IOD will evaluate the reaction wheel’s reliability, attitude control performance, and performance under space environmental conditions. By sharing data acquired during the demonstration with ASPINA, Axelspace will support ASPINA’s future development and commercialization efforts.

The reaction wheel is installed on one of the seven GRUS-3 satellites launched on July 7, 2026 (JST). Although this reaction wheel is installed on one of the four satellites affected by the anomaly, the IOD remains feasible on this satellite, and Axelspace plans to proceed with it. The start date will be announced once determined.

Related Information
Axelspace Announces AxelLiner Laboratory (AL Lab), a New Service Under Its AxelLiner Business (July 17, 2024)

Note: The development of a versatile satellite bus system for GRUS-3 is based on results obtained through the following projects subsidized by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization):“Development and Demonstration of General-Purpose CubeSat and Microsatellite Buses” (FY2023-2026) *This project was supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (FY2021-2022)

About ASPINA Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1918 as Shinano Kenshi Boseki Co., Ltd., the company entered the precision motor business in 1962 in response to changing times. Today, under the corporate brand ASPINA, it provides motion solutions through its compact, lightweight, and quiet motor technologies and motion control expertise across a wide range of fields, including home appliances, housing equipment, industrial machinery, automotive, medical devices, and space. The company also actively pursues new business opportunities, with recent initiatives including the development of AspinaAMR autonomous mobile robots for manufacturing plants and contract manufacturing of medical devices.
https://aspina-group.com/

About Axelspace
Guided by its vision— “Space within Your Reach”— Axelspace has been at the forefront of microsatellite innovation since its founding in 2008. Leveraging cutting-edge expertise in microsatellite design, manufacturing, and IOD, the company is redefining how people and industries access space. Its flagship businesses, AxelLiner, which provides satellite development and operation services to help customers realize their space missions, and AxelGlobe, which delivers Earth observation data through Axelspace’s proprietary optical satellite constellation, are driving a new era of space utilization. Through these business activities, Axelspace aims to realize a society where space solutions are accessible to everyone.

About AxelLiner Laboratory
AxelLiner Laboratory is an IOD service that uses Axelspace’s microsatellites and is offered as part of AxelLiner, the company’s satellite development and operation business. It provides opportunities to verify the performance of components essential to basic satellite functions, as well as mission payloads tailored to specific applications and objectives, in the space environment. The service helps establish flight heritage—a proven track record of operation in orbit—for space equipment exposed to harsh conditions, including vibrations during rocket launch, temperature fluctuations exceeding 100°C, radiation, and vacuum.

Axelspace Corporation
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
President and CEO: Yuya Nakamura
Founded: August 2008
https://www.axelspace.com/