Summary
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]
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 New R&D center of PD Aerospace in Nagoya. | |
Native name | PDエアロスペース株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Pī Dī Earosupēsu Kabushiki-gaisha |
| Company type | KK |
| Industry | Space tourism |
| Founded | 30 May 2007 in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan |
| Founder | Shuji Ogawa |
| Headquarters | Nagoya , Japan |
Key people | Shuji Ogawa (President) |
Number of employees | 5 |
| Website | www |
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]
See also edit
- Blue Origin
- Interstellar Technologies, a Japanese rocket startup
- Virgin Galactic
References edit
- ^ a b "Entrepreneurs see hope in the heavens". Nikkei Asian Review. 5 December 2015.
- ^ "Japan Looks Set to Dominate 'Newspace' in Asia; India, China in Play". Forbes. 27 April 2016.
- ^ a b Boyle, Alan (2 December 2016). "Japanese heavy-hitters invest lightly in PD Aerospace's space tourism effort". GeekWire.
- ^ Chandran, Nyshka (13 April 2017). "SpaceX doesn't scare Asia's space players". CNBC.
- ^ "Developing new Rocket Engine, Space Business". Protechnology Magazine. 27 October 2014.
- ^ Cooper, Chris (1 December 2016). "ANA Joins Efforts to Start Space Trips as Possible Virgin Rival". Bloomberg.
External links edit
Media related to PD AeroSpace at Wikimedia Commons
