Japan is pouring billions of dollars into its burgeoning space industry and easing restrictions on defense exports, all part of a grand plan to build a homegrown aerospace sector filled with domestic startups that can play on a global stage. And Letara, a Sapporo-based startup with a thing for hybrid propulsion, is more than happy to cash in on that national ambition.
The company, which has been tinkering with hybrid thrusters for small satellites, now wants to build large rocket systems for space, defense, and security markets. Because why stop at small when you can go big? This expansion is fueled by ¥2.6 billion (~$16 million) in new funding, a round co-led by Headline Asia, JIC Venture Growth Investment, and Incubate Fund, with strategic investors like NES Corporation (an energy company), Toyoda Gosei (a Toyota Group supplier of rubber and plastic auto parts), and Frontier Innovations (a JAXA-backed investment fund) tagging along for the ride.
"With this round, we will go beyond demonstrating that thruster in space," said co-CEO Shota Hirai, presumably with a confident smirk. "We plan to explore a much wider set of use cases across both the space domain and the defense and security domain, and to develop and propose hybrid rocket systems suited to each of them."
At the heart of Letara's tech is a hybrid rocket design that keeps solid fuel separate from the liquid oxidizer. The solid fuel? Inexpensive, widely available materials like plastic and rubber. The company has a proprietary manufacturing process that mixes, shapes, and compresses these materials to ensure they ignite reliably and burn consistently. The result: more thrust with less waste than traditional hybrid rockets that often rely on pricey paraffin wax. It's like turning your recycling bin into a rocket engine, if your recycling bin were engineered with precision and a healthy dose of ambition.
Letara aims to solve three problems that have long plagued hybrid propulsion: generating sufficient thrust, maintaining performance, and controlling combustion. If they succeed, the payoff could be substantial. The global hybrid rocket propulsion market is projected to grow from $848 million in 2024 to $2.6 billion by 2032, a CAGR of 15%. That's a lot of potential Thrust, both literal and metaphorical.
But Letara isn't alone in this space race. Competitors include Japan's Interstellar Technologies, China's Galactic Energy, South Korea's InnoSpace, Singapore's Equatorial Space, Germany's HyImpulse, and Australia's Gilmour Space. The U.S. has its own contenders too. Everyone wants a piece of the hybrid pie, apparently.
The idea for Letara hatched while co-CEOs Landon Thomas Kamps and Hirai were researching rocket propulsion at Hokkaido University. They figured the relative safety and simplicity of hybrid rockets could make them useful beyond traditional space programs, especially as private companies dive into the industry. When Letara spun out of Hokkaido University in 2020, it was all about satellite thrusters. Now, it's aiming higher - literally and figuratively.
"Large spacecraft need high thrust propulsion as well, especially when they need to go from LEO to GEO and get through the high radiation Van Allen belt quickly," Hirai explained. "And of course, there is insane growing demand for launch vehicles." Insane, indeed.
Letara is targeting satellite makers and operators, launch companies, and governments. Commercial satellites are its biggest market for in-space propulsion, but government demand for rocket systems is growing, especially in Japan. The company says it has already won orders from rocket and satellite companies as well as the Japanese government, though it's keeping the dollar amounts under wraps. Next up: an in-orbit firing test with an overseas partner, a key step toward commercialization. They'll also need to nail down a repeatable manufacturing process with quality controls and a reliable supply chain for fuel and tanks.
And if you're wondering whether recycled plastic could eventually power these rockets, Letara says it's "very much a possibility" - though more testing and development would be needed. So hold onto your plastic bottles; they might just be the fuel of the future.