Minamisoma, Fukushima Pref. –
In Fukushima Prefecture’s Minamisoma, a city hit hard by tsunami in 2011, a local startup aims to launch a rocket from an air balloon in fiscal 2025, which begins next April.
“We will move forward together with local people,” Shobu Oda, CEO of the Japanese startup, AstroX, said after the company successfully conducted a ground test with a small rocket in November.
Oda, who previously had no connection to Minamisoma, founded the company in 2022, choosing the city because its east side faces the sea, which is suitable for launching rockets, and planes and ships pass nearby less frequently.
