Japanese airline operator Ana Holdings (ANA HD) is set to make an additional investment in space-venture company PD Aerospace.
The JPY200m ($1.8m) investment is part of a JPY520m ($4.8m) investment raised by PD Aerospace in a Series A fundraising round, which included investments from HIS, Huis Ten Bosch, Mizuho Capital, and Optima Ventures.
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Through the investment, ANA HD will own PD Aerospace shares through a third-party allotment.
In October 2016, ANA HD made an investment of JPY20.4m ($187,598) in PD Aerospace.
The investment is expected to allow PD Aerospace to provide commercial space flight services using a new type of spacecraft.
ANA Digital Design Lab vice-president Yoshiaki Tsuda said: “We are increasing our support to help expedite the project’s timeline of testing and launching an unmanned spacecraft to an altitude of 100km.”
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By GlobalDataIn July last year, PD Aerospace developed an experimental propulsion system, which features a simple tube structure that incorporates jet engine and rocket engine functions in one system by using the characteristics of a pulse detonation engine to enable hypersonic flight.
The company’s new space plane uses systems similar to those on a conventional aircraft. It is designed to take off and land using its jet engine and convert to rocket engine mode when in space.
The company plans to use the newly raised fund to transfer its research and development centre to a new location within the city of Hekinan, Japan, and aims to fly an unmanned spacecraft powered by the new propulsion system up to an altitude of 100km next year.
The new research and development centre will include a hangar for the spacecraft and will be eight times bigger than the existing facility.
