Launch Target Period Set for Axelspace’s D-SAIL Equipped Demonstration Satellite under JAXA’s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4

D-SAIL membrane deployment and deorbiting performance verification scheduled for about a year from launch

Axelspace Corporation (“Axelspace”), which develops and operates microsatellites and conducts business to promote a society where space is accessible to people around the world, is pleased to announce that the launch target period has been set for the RApid Innovative payload demonstration SatellitE-4 (RAISE-4), carrying Axelspace’s deployable deorbit mechanism “D-SAIL,” as part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s program named “the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4.

RAISE-4 is scheduled to be launched by Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from launch complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, during the period from November 25 to December 24, 2025.

D-SAIL is a deorbiting device designed to shorten the time a satellite remains in orbit after the termination of its operation. Axelspace and SAKASE•ADTECH CO.,LTD. have jointly developed it. A membrane of approximately 2m² and a few tens of micrometres in thickness is deployed to increase atmospheric drag, gradually reducing the satellite altitude. As a result, the deorbiting time will be reduced to just a few years.

RAISE-4 will demonstrate eight components, and D-SAIL demonstration is scheduled for about a year after launch. Axelspace plans to measure the atmospheric resistance actually experienced by its membrane and verify its performance in the orbital environment.

There is a growing global demand to mitigate the accumulation of space debris, exemplified by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandating that satellites in low Earth orbit be deorbited within five years after the end of their operational life. Axelspace equips its versatile satellite bus systems with D-SAIL as a standard feature, aiming to achieve sustainable satellite operations.

Reference （Japanese Only）:
JAXA announcement “Launch Schedule of Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration- 4”（October 10, 2025）:
https://www.jaxa.jp/press/2025/10/20251010-2_j.html
JAXA Press conference on the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4(YouTube):
https://youtube.com/live/pOrVAm4chnY
JAXA Interview “People involved in the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4”:
https://www.kenkai.jaxa.jp/kakushin/interview/04/interview04_07.html

The initial announcement regarding Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 can be found here:
https://www.axelspace.com/news/20230227/

Axelspace’s development and demonstration of D-SAIL is based on outcomes of the following project subsidized by the NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization).
– Program to Support Ventures for Developing Space Components (FY2020-2021)

About Axelspace
With the vision of “Space within Your Reach,” we have been pioneering the development of microsatellites since our founding in 2008. We have two businesses: AxelLiner, where we develop and operate microsatellites for customers’ space missions, and AxelGlobe, where we provide Earth observation data through our proprietary optical satellite constellation. Leveraging our unique technology in microsatellite design, manufacturing, and in-orbit operations, we offer solutions to meet the needs in a variety of industries. Through these businesses, we aim to create a society where space is accessible to people around the world.

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