MOL PLUS, the investment arm of Japan’s largest shipowner, Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), will be investing in Innovative Space Carrier (ISC), a startup developing small reusable rockets.
Tokyo-headquartered ISC is currently focused on developing reusable rockets for satellite launches, with plans to expand into manned space transportation services and the spaceport industry. All this is led by the company’s corporate vision of making a reality a world where people and cargo are delivered daily in space.
The company wishes to achieve high-frequency space transportation using fully reusable single-stage space vehicles by the 2040s. It has set out to develop reusable launch vehicles for satellite launches by 2028.
MOL PLUS shares ISC’s business vision and will participate in raising funds for the company. MOL has already participated in a working group to study the ISC’s so-called next-generation spaceport.
So far, the startup has raised around $8.7m from several investors. Most recently the company received investments of little over $2.55m from Miyako Capital, Angel Bridge, SMBC Venture Capital, and MOL PLUS.
“From the standpoint of promoting shipping and marine business empathise with the worldview ICS hopes to realise. We became convinced that this is an initiative that we can promote together by leveraging our strengths,” said Takuya Sakamoto, CEO of MOL PLUS.
In the future, MOL will look to increase efforts in creating new businesses in shipping, logistics, maritime and space business, including developing an offshore launching and landing project for reusable rockets with ISC.
French liner CMA CGM has already made its foray into space after launching a satellite containing French start-up Gama’s solar sail on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at the beginning of the year.
The Gama Alpha mission, which CMA CGM is supporting, will allow Gama to test the deployment of a solar sail in low earth orbit, a decisive phase for what the French carrier described as the democratisation of this new means of space propulsion.