Hokkaido Spaceport

Hokkaido Spaceport (HOSPO), located in Taiki Town (大樹町, Taiki-cho) in Hokkaido prefecture on Japan's northernmost main island, is Japan's first commercial multi-user spaceport supporting both vertical and horizontal rocket launches — designated Japan's third rocket launch complex (alongside JAXA's Tanegashima and Uchinoura facilities) and recognized as the first public-use commercial spaceport in the Asian region when it began commercial operations.

HOSPO's Taiki location was initially developed as a balloon launch site by JAXA for stratospheric balloon experiments, then expanded to support Interstellar Technologies' MOMO rocket launch campaigns (the suborbital sounding rockets that achieved Japan's first private orbital space boundary crossing in May 2019 at 113.4 km altitude). The spaceport's wide-open agricultural flatlands, low population density, and proximity to the Pacific Ocean provide safety corridor clearance for both eastward and northward launch azimuths.

HOSPO's expansion into commercial spaceport infrastructure reflects Japan's post-2015 commercial space policy opening that enabled private rocket companies (Interstellar Technologies, Space One, Synspective launch support) to develop outside JAXA's traditional program structure. The spaceport provides launch pad infrastructure, propellant storage, safety monitoring systems, and launch operations support services to multiple launch vehicle customers — reducing the capital burden on individual companies who would otherwise need to build dedicated launch sites.

HOSPO also supports horizontal launches for air-launched or runway-based systems, providing Japan's commercial space ecosystem with access to both vertical orbit insertion and potentially future aircraft-based small satellite launch capabilities. The Hokkaido region's broad flat terrain and coastal access make it suitable for multiple launch vehicle configurations that require different trajectory azimuths and range clearances than JAXA's southern island launch sites.