Photo: Infostellar

Ground segment as a service company Infostellar and Astro Gate have signed an MoU to collaborate on spaceport development and ground station deployment.

Under the MoU announced this week, Astrogate will support Infostellar in identifying and evaluating potential ground station sites, and the companies will work together for government approval in strategic locations. The ground stations will be designed to support Infostellar’s satellite communications services as well as Astro Gate’s rocket launch operations.

Astro Gate is a spaceport developer and provides spaceport planning and operations, rocket launch support, and consulting services. Infostellar offers ground segment as a service for spacecraft operators, and announced plans last year to deploy a company-owned network of satellite ground antennas throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Both Astro Gate and Infostellar are based in Japan. 

Infostellar CEO Naomi Kurahara said this collaboration will identify new ground station sites and facilitate infrastructure development for spaceports, and “contribute to the growth of space infrastructure both in Japan and globally.”

“By combining our human networks and site selection expertise with Infostellar’s ground station deployment and operational know-how, we aim to promote ground station installations worldwide. This will enhance orbital trajectory flexibility for rockets and increase the frequency and volume of satellite data communications,” commented Astro Gate CEO Daisuke Ode.