TOKYO: The bankruptcy of Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit has jeopardized Japan’s hopes of building a domestic space industry, with plans for a Kyushu-based spaceport designed to draw tourists put on hold amid lack of funding.
Oita prefecture, home to Japan’s most significant number of hot springs, partnered with Virgin Orbit in 2020 to create its first Asian spaceport at Oita Airport using a Boeing (BA.N) 747 for horizontal rocket launches.
At the time, when both Tokyo and Washington are concerned about China’s emergence as a space power, British entrepreneur Richard Branson founded Virgin Orbit, which had advertised itself as a military and intelligence satellite launch platform for the US and its allies, including Japan.
The original aim was to launch small satellites from Oita as early as last year. However, that never occurred, leading to another setback to Japan’s attempt to become a player in the crowded market for commercial satellite launches after two recent rocket launch failures.
