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PD AeroSpace

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PD Aerospace
Native name
PDエアロスペース株式会社
Pī Dī Earosupēsu Kabushiki-gaisha
TypeKK
IndustrySpace tourism
Founded30 May 2007; 19 years ago (2007-05-30) in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
FounderShuji Ogawa
Headquarters
Nagoya
,
Japan
Key peopleShuji Ogawa (President)
Number of employees
5
Websitewww.pdas.co.jp

PD Aerospace (Japanese: ＰＤエアロスペース株式会社, Hepburn: Pī Dī Earosupēsu Kabushiki-gaisha), often abbreviated PDAS, is a Japanese space tourism company based in Nagoya founded in 2007 by Shuji Ogawa.[1] The "PD" in the company's name stands for "pulse detonation".[2] PDAS is developing a suborbital spaceplane to carry two pilots and six passengers using a hybrid of jet and rocket power. Initial tickets are planned for ¥ 14,000,000 (about $125,000 USD as of April 2017) eventually lowering to ¥400,000 (about $3,600).[3][4]

PDAS plans to develop a hybrid engine that produces jet and rocket thrust, using pulse detonation jet and pulse combustion rocket modes.[5] To reduce the cost of development and keep the vehicle low-cost, PDAS plans to use commercially available hardware, instead of custom-designed parts.[1] H.I.S. and ANA own 10% and 7% of the company, respectively.[3][6]

The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Okinawa Prefecture in 2020 to develop a commercial spaceport at Shimojishima Airport.[7] At the time, PD Aerospace was targeting wealthy Chinese customers.[8] In February 2023, PD AeroSpace signed a memorandum of understanding with 0-G Launch, a Washington-based zero-gravity flight operator, to offer zero-gravity flights from Shimojishima.[9]

The company's PDAS-X06 unmanned testbed aircraft crashed off of Shimojishima in 2023.[7] Later that year, the company's CEO told Reuters that he expected to conduct an initial public offering after their successful unmanned test flight, expected around 2027.[10]

In 2024, PD AeroSpace exhibited a new rocket engine design to the media and stated that it was planning to offer commercial space flights by 2031, and to reduce the cost per flight to 1 million yen or less by 2040.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Entrepreneurs see hope in the heavens". Nikkei Asian Review. 5 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Japan Looks Set to Dominate 'Newspace' in Asia; India, China in Play". Forbes. 27 April 2016.
  3. 1 2 Boyle, Alan (2 December 2016). "Japanese heavy-hitters invest lightly in PD Aerospace's space tourism effort". GeekWire.
  4. ↑ Chandran, Nyshka (13 April 2017). "SpaceX doesn't scare Asia's space players". CNBC.
  5. ↑ "Developing new Rocket Engine, Space Business". Protechnology Magazine. 27 October 2014.
  6. ↑ Cooper, Chris (1 December 2016). "ANA Joins Efforts to Start Space Trips as Possible Virgin Rival". Bloomberg.
  7. 1 2 "Okinawa space ambitions still strong a year after test-flight crash". The Japan Times. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2026.
  8. ↑ "Chinese tourists eyed as Japan's 'space port' prepares for lift-off". South China Morning Post. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2026.
  9. ↑ "0-G Launch Signs MOU with PD Aerospace for High-Precision Zero-Gravity Flight Services at Shimojishima Spaceport, Okinawa | 2023 - Events & News - Investing in Japan - Japan External Trade Organization". ジェトロ. 2026. Retrieved 3 November 2026.
  10. ↑ 白木真紀; 小宮貫太郎; 小宮貫太郎 (12 December 2023). "インタビュー：宇宙機ベンチャーＰＤＡＳ、ＩＰＯは27年頃が理想 有人試作機の飛行後＝社長". Reuters (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 November 2026.
  11. ↑ "PDエアロスペース、衝撃波使うエンジン実験". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). 27 May 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2026.
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