Japanese moon transport company ispace Inc. (OTC:IPCEF) said Wednesday it will start a lower-cost lunar cargo business using SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) Starship heavy rocket and moon lander, widening its bet on shared transport to the moon after two failed landing attempts.
ispace Buys Capacity On Starship Mission
Tokyo-based ispace said it bought 500 kilograms, or 1,102 pounds, of capacity for $50 million on a Starship mission that could land on the moon as soon as 2030. The company will also build a lunar surface vehicle that can host payloads from customers worldwide, sharing the Starship ride.
The new "lunar access integrator" service would work like a moon-bound bus, said ispace Executive Vice President Hideari Kamiya. He contrasted that with ispace’s dedicated lunar lander business, which he described as more like a "taxi" to the lunar surface.
Starship Tie-Up Follows Failed Landings
ispace previously used SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets for lunar landing attempts in 2023 and 2025, both of which failed. The company now aims to soft-land three Ultra landers on the moon by 2030, including one mission under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Reuters reported in March that ispace had delayed a NASA-sponsored moon mission to 2030 and cut jobs after its earlier setbacks.
Chief Executive Takeshi Hakamada said to Reuters that the Starship tie-up would "exponentially" accelerate ispace’s growth in the lunar infrastructure market while the company continues developing its Ultra missions.
SpaceX welcomed the expanded relationship. Stephanie Bednarek, SpaceX’s vice president of commercial sales, said ispace’s integration services offer "a valuable pathway for smaller payloads to secure a ride to the Moon today," adding that SpaceX looks forward to supporting ispace and its customers.
NASA And Astrolab Also Bet On Starship
The relationship is not exclusive. NASA plans to use Starship for the first Artemis lunar landing in 2028, while U.S. lunar rover startup Astrolab has also booked space on a future Starship flight. NASA says Artemis IV remains targeted for early 2028 as the program’s first lunar landing.
"SpaceX approached us first" with the integrator idea, Hakamada said. He added that a few companies may be able to both integrate cargo and continue providing services after landing. Still, Starship remains under development, and U.S. regulators grounded the vehicle after a test-flight mishap, highlighting the technical risks behind the lunar plan.
According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, SpaceX stock fails to provide a favorable price trend in the Short, Medium and Long term.
Price Action: SpaceX shares rose 1.18% to $151.24 in pre-market trading on Wednesday.
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