23 December Future Space Transportation Systems company (ISC) (Japan) announced the cancellation of ASCA takeoff and landing tests 1.0 in the United States, which were scheduled for 2025 The financial year. It was unclear due to the US government shutdown, whether approval will be obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the originally planned terms. The company will switch to a rocket engine, developed in-house, in order to launch in 2027 fiscal year in accordance with SBIR phase three funding requirements.
Since its foundation in 2022 year, the ISC works to realize the mission of ASCA, project of development of a reusable rocket, which started in Japan. ASCA 1.0 is a demonstration platform of technologies at the initial stage, and to speed up development, it was planned to purchase the engine from Ursa Major Technologies, American rocket engine development company, and conduct takeoff and landing tests in the United States.
Although the cancellation of the ASCA mission 1.0 may delay the development of reusable technology, the company will give priority to the development of satellite launch technology. First, it will continue to develop a disposable rocket to launch satellites using its own rocket engines, developed by domestic forces.
According to the company, it received permission to export cargo to the US in July, but due to the shutdown of the US government can no longer obtain approval from the FAA for flight tests during 2025 financial year, and it also became difficult to apply for an additional Technical Assistance Agreement (TAA) to access confidential information. in addition, it became clear, that Trump's tariffs could result in additional fees of 100 million yen, and that responding to them would mean additional legal costs.
Source: https://uchubiz.com