[Tokyo Updates] Making Space Development Open for All

To realize the "democratization of space" and make it as accessible as the Internet—that is the vision of Sato Katsuaki. He is the CEO and founder of Space Data Inc. and has been selected for Forbes' "30 Under 30 Asia" list as well as Forbes Japan's "Top 10 Entrepreneurs to Save Japan" list. What is the space development that he envisions and the possibilities it would bring?

Space Data is a startup that aims to combine space development and digital technology. Before founding it in 2017, Sato had an unusual background.

He entered Waseda University in Tokyo to become a lawyer but changed course because of an unexpected judicial system reform that made passing the bar exam require too much time. Instead, he decided to start a business related to the Internet, which was in its infancy at the time. He learned programming on his own and founded a web development company. Then, just as he began to feel the limits of his business' expansion, he saw the tides of change coming with the arrival of smartphones.

"I was certain that an age would come where everything, including money and information, could be managed with these small computers. Smartphone apps appeared one after another, but their developers were having trouble monetizing them. So, I decided to create a platform for app monetization."

In 2007, he established a new company that would eventually become Metaps Holdings, Inc. and expanded his business by using AI to analyze big data and developing an online payment system. He set up eight offices overseas and listed his company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers section in 2015.

One would usually aim for further business expansion, but Sato was different. He instead turned his attention to space.

"At that time, companies like GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon) were already dominating the industry, and I felt that the market had matured. Also, as we expanded overseas, I had already been thinking of our Internet business on a global scale, and further expansion in that field did not appeal to me anymore. While I was thinking about where the next frontier would be, I concluded that it would be beyond Earth, in space. I started with zero knowledge, but as I began researching, I became more and more drawn to it."

However, the research and development of hardware such as rockets and satellites takes an enormous amount of time, and because of the military factor, it cannot compete with the USA, which spends billions of dollars on a national scale. He came to believe that the only way for an IT specialist like him to get into space development was through software.

"It might upset some people when I say this, but I could see what lay ahead for business in the IT field and it no longer interested me. Conversely, there are still many unsolved mysteries in space, and it is worth pursuing. I could spend my whole life on it, and it would never get boring. That's why I thought it was worth the challenge."

With that thought in mind, he launched Space Data.

Sato is aiming to create a space development platform that anyone can participate in.

"People picture the space industry as a specialist field, but computers were also initially for hardware specialists, IT companies, and internet nerds, and now anyone can use them freely. I think space should be like that, and all it will take is 20 years. To lay the groundwork for this, I want to create an environment for software development and simulation that will allow everyone to enter space."

For example, Space Data is planning to develop a universal operating system (OS) that can be installed on equipment such as satellites, robots working in space, unmanned spacecraft, and space stations, and to make it available for free. The OS will allow anyone to enter the space industry to explore new businesses. In other words, it will realize the democratization of space.

"We're aiming to develop an OS like Windows and become the 'Microsoft of space.' We have experience from Metaps in big data analysis, system development, and digital twin technology (a technology that uses satellite data, AI, and 3D models to automatically create realistic replicas in digital space). If the market of this democratized space expands, we can monetize our business later any way we want, for example by customizing software for companies that enter the space business."

The company is already developing space station robots in collaboration with a space robot development company and plans to demonstrate them in 2025 on the International Space Station (ISS), which is operated by 15 countries including Japan and the USA.

Tokyo and, more specifically, Shibuya are particularly appealing to Sato, which he explains while discussing the reason why he continues his space business there: "The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Tsukuba Space Center (located in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture) is still the base for space development, but it's convenient to be in the center of Tokyo when we need to talk to the relevant government agencies. Shibuya is also a city that attracts young people. Most IT-related engineers now are in their 20s, and young engineers from overseas say they like Shibuya because it's a creative city."

Lastly, he shared an example of his vision for Tokyo's future: "Make Odaiba (a seaside district on Tokyo Bay) become a space tech hub. If we can attract young engineers and make it a front-line base for space development, I think it will also be a popular tourist attraction and revitalize the area."

Interview and writing by Yoshida Shuhei

Photos by Akiyoshi Yoko

Images courtesy of Space Data Inc.

Translation by Endo Toshio

Click here for the Japanese version of the article.