Axelspace Recognized in NASA’s State-of-the-Art Small Spacecraft Technology Report

Only Japanese Company Featured as a Provider of Spacecraft Bus Systems Designed for Secondary Payload Launches

Axelspace Corporation (“Axelspace”), a leading developer and operator of microsatellites dedicated to realizing its vision of “Space within Your Reach,” announced today that its satellite bus system has been featured in State-of-the-Art of Small Spacecraft Technology, a report published by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (“NASA”).

A spacecraft bus system provides the core functions of a satellite excluding the payload*1, including power supply, attitude control, communications, data processing, thermal management, and propulsion.

Published by NASA, the report assesses and provides an overview of the state of the art in small spacecraft technologies for mission designers, project managers, technologists, and students.

Axelspace has been listed for three consecutive editions since 2022 in the category of Hosted Orbital Service Providers, which covers companies offering end-to-end services for spacecraft capable of accommodating customer payloads, from development and launch to in-orbit operations.

In addition, the 2026 edition newly includes Axelspace in the Spacecraft Bus Procurement category. Axelspace is the only Japanese company featured as a provider of spacecraft bus systems*3 designed to be launched as secondary payloads*2 using ESPA (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter) rings or similar structures.

State-of-the-Art of Small Spacecraft Technology (NASA)：
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/soa-2026.pdf?emrc=12c9ca

*1 Defined in the report as equipment and other instruments carried on a satellite.
*2 Satellites launched together with the primary satellite.
*3 The development of a versatile satellite bus system 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)

Axelspace’s one-stop microsatellite service, AxelLiner, helps customers achieve their mission objectives through a comprehensive package of services, including satellite design and manufacturing, launch arrangements, and in-orbit operational support.

About AxelLiner: https://www.axelspace.com/services/
Axelspace will continue to support a wide range of space missions for customers around the world through the provision of spacecraft bus systems and other space utilization services.

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 on-orbit operations, 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 initiatives, Axelspace is shaping a future where space is accessible and within reach for everyone.

Axelspace Corporation
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
President and CEO: Yuya Nakamura
Founded: August 2008

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