Interview
ブラック クイーン ブラック ジャックtartup’s Innovative Nano-satellites are Addressing Social Issues around the World

In 2021, Mount Nyiragongo located between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo erupted with no warning, sweeping away hundreds of homes and causing immense economic and human damage. It was a terrible disaster, and while there’s no way to stop future eruptions, adequate warning could have made a big difference.

Next time, the hope is that will change. Playing a key role is ArkEdge Space, a fast-growing Japanese space-tech startup, who developed the RWASAT-1 satellite with the Rwandan government to demonstrate the gathering of data to provide early detection of potential future eruptions. It’s an example of how satellite technology can enable better disaster response and recovery in the developing world.

“We’re reducing the cost of getting information to locals in dangerous areas, providing a new solution,” said Takayoshi Fukuyo, ArkEdge Space’s CEO.

This is the vision that Fukuyo had when he founded ArkEdge Space back in 2018. With several years of experience working in international development for the Japanese International Cooperative Agency (JICA) and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he had seen first-hand how places like Rwanda often struggled to access data and information in order to prepare for natural disasters or other social risks.

“I have experience in African countries and also the Brazilian Amazon,” said Fukuyo. He saw the potential for data to drive more effective, sustainable solutions and address social issues.

What makes ArkEdge Space unique is that they specialize in the design, manufacturing, and rapid delivery of low-cost micro and nano-satellites for both low-earth orbit and deep space exploration missions. This allows them to work in places where other companies, with far more expensive systems, cannot operate, like Rwanda.

“Our goal is to empower people through satellites, contribute to solving social problems, and address sustainable development management towards tackling global issues,” said Fukuyo. “Our target is not just making a satellite.”

Currently, ArkEdge Space has varieties of satellite offerings: 3U and 6U CubeSats to up to 100kg class satellites, produced in Japan. Their satellites are cost-effective, at one percent the cost of traditional larger satellites, and can provide high-frequency data, as many can be deployed at once in a constellation format. They can also be designed, built, and sent into space more quickly, allowing for unique flexibility. Thus far, they've been used in a wide range of business applications, from geological surveying to maritime safety, disaster monitoring and agricultural improvement.

To ArkEdge Space, low costs and flexibility are key to making satellite and remote sensing data accessible to developing countries, many of which lack either the technological know-how or financing to produce their own satellites. Having drastically reduced production costs by streamlining its designs and optimizing the manufacturing process, ArkEdge Space is able to provide unprecedented low-cost and quick delivery service, allowing access to space more cheaply and faster.

“Our strong point is that we are already reducing the cost of the satellites, and we are now establishing a semi-mass production model,” said Fukuyo.

This can be seen in the countries where ArkEdge Space is working. While most competitors in Europe and North America are focusing on their own markets, Fukuyo’s team has developed partnerships and projects in unexpected places: Turkey, Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Some of these are the very places where Fukuyo worked in the past.

“Our hope is that developing countries and emerging economies can join in making new solutions or new businesses with these satellites,” said Fukuyo.

This means doing more than just providing a satellite, but finding a way to make them accessible to governments and people in developing countries.

“A small African country cannot afford to pay to make a satellite,” said Fukuyo.

To address this, they’ve partnered with Japan and other countries official development assistance funding, to access development aid. It also means doing work on the ground to ensure accessibility.

“We have to do capacity building because people in emerging countries to whom the satellite data is useful are often in the countryside, where they lack infrastructure,” added Fukuyo.

This does not mean they’re not exploring broader applications for their technology. ArkEdge Space has grown immensely since 2018, receiving numerous investment rounds, most recently from Incubate Fund, UntroD, SPARX Innovation for the Future and Pavilion Capital. They now have more than 140 full-time employees and partnerships with large companies, including IHI and Softbank, and are doing scientific research alongside the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

But a core focus remains on projects like the one in Rwanda, aimed at providing developing countries the tools to address social concerns. Through JETRO's initiative, ArkEdge Space is setting its sights on Central Asia as its next frontier, exploring opportunities in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

"Those who need this technology are living in places with little infrastructure," said Fukuyo. "I believe that we can provide a new communication and information system with satellites, to tackle global issues, and I believe we are now contributing to this, step by step."