14 Nov, 2024
Ron Garan, CEO of ispace-U.S., and Justin Zipkin, CEO of Volta Space Technologies
Denver, Colorado – November 14, 2024 – ispace technologies U.S., inc. (ispace-U.S.), an American lunar exploration company, and Volta Space Technologies (Volta), a leading innovator in lunar power solutions, have reached an agreement for a strategic collaboration to leverage Volta’s optical laser power technologies and ispace-U.S.’s lunar transportation and infrastructure technologies to develop “Survive the Night” capability for lunar missions. The two companies reached the agreement prior to The Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC) 2024 Fall meeting at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
The strategic collaboration agreement signed by both companies serves as an initial framework for negotiations on a future partnership to develop a commercial offering for “Survive the Night” capability, integrate Volta’s LightPort receiver into ispace-U.S.’s future missions, and deliver other Volta’s payloads to the Moon’s surface.
“Developing technologies that enable surviving the extreme lunar environments is crucial for a permanent human presence on the Moon,” said Ron Garan, Chief Executive Officer of ispace-U.S. “We look forward to advancing this strategic collaboration with Volta Space Technologies to explore technology development to bolster the growth of the U.S. aerospace industry.”
“We are thrilled to partner with ispace in bringing revolutionary power solutions to the Moon. This collaboration will not only extend mission lifetimes but also offer game-changing energy access for lunar operations,” said Justin Zipkin, CEO of Volta Space Technologies. “By combining our power solutions with ispace’s lunar lander systems, we can offer a powerful commercial solution for sustained lunar development.”
ispace is leveraging its global presence through its three business units in Japan, the U.S., and Luxembourg, for the simultaneous development of upcoming missions. Mission 2 is led by ispace-Japan is scheduled to launch no earlier than January 2025. Mission 3, debuting the APEX 1.0 lunar lander, is led by ispace-U.S. and is expected to launch in 2026.
With operating locations in Montreal, Washington D.C., and Broomfield, CO, Volta is currently executing work for the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the U.S. Department of Defense. Volta is conducting a series of increasingly complex demonstrations of its LightGrid and LightPort technologies with in-space operations planned by 2027.
About Volta Space Technologies
Volta Space Technologies is a leader in optical wireless power transmission solutions for space and terrestrial missions. The company’s innovative technology is designed to provide critical and reliable power to energy challenged environments, with a focus on building power infrastructure for the Moon through its orbital power grid.
About ispace technologies U.S.
ispace – U.S. is an American lunar exploration company providing transportation and infrastructure capabilities from Earth to lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon for government and commercial customers. ispace believes that the utilization of lunar resources is the catalyst for enabling human permanence and economic opportunity on and around the Moon and is committed to achieving this goal. The company’s U.S. headquarters serves as the central location for the development of its APEX 1.0 lunar lander, which is being designed, manufactured, and launched in the United States. In partnership with Draper, this lander will deliver a suite of NASA-sponsored science payloads to the lunar surface as part of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Initiative.