Space Walker raises $4.5 million for composite spaceplane, business developments

University startup Space Walker Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) announced in March 2022 that it has recently closed an additional $4.5 million through convertible equity and bonds, completing seed funding mainly from individual angel investors. This brings the total amount of funds raised to nearly $10 million.

The funds raised, the company says, will be used for the technology demonstration of Space Walker’s sustainable suborbital spaceplane, which is complete with a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) airframe produced through an open innovation consortium with Toray Carbon Magic (Shiga, Japan). Furthermore, the propellant tank and high-pressure gas tank, which occupy 70% of the initial mass of the launch, are all made of composite materials to reduce the overall weight.

Funds will also be applied to the development of commercial aircraft, capital investment in the newly launched composite materials business, as well as for working capital such as personnel reinforcement and advertising expenses associated with aforementioned activities, to further business expansion. 

Through sustainable space travel and transportation, Space Walker envisions a future where everyone can travel between Earth and space as freely as riding a commercial airplane today.

“In 2021, our Pledge to Sustainable Space Development renewed our awareness of pressing environmental and social issues not only in outer space, but also here on Earth,” Akihide Manabe, Space Walker CEO, says. “This round of funds has enabled us to establish a composites business department, presenting an opportunity to contribute to the current decarbonization momentum. Space Walker’s suborbital spaceplane, which is under development, is a reusable rocket that will be propelled with clean fuel. We will further refine our space technology to bring it down to fulfill our role in society here on Earth — in air, on land and at sea — and to grow into a company that will flourish for generations.”

In July 2021, the company also launched its composites material department, corresponding with the product of Type IV and V ultra-high pressure composite vessels developed for space commerce, as well as terrestrial, naval and air commerce (such as storage containers for hydrogen).