Exolaunch has been selected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to provide satellite deployment services for the upcoming Kakushin Rising mission, as announced on April 2, 2026.
This mission, which is part of JAXA’s Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 program, is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 23, 2026, aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand. Exolaunch will utilize its advanced EXOpod NOVA deployers to release eight separate spacecraft once they reach their target sun-synchronous orbit.
The Kakushin Rising mission serves as an on-orbit demonstration platform for various Japanese universities, research institutes, and private companies. The eight satellites being deployed—MAGNARO-II, KOSEN-2R, WASEDA-SAT-ZERO-II, FSI-SAT2, OrigamiSat-2, Mono-Nikko, ARICA-2, and PRELUDE—include a diverse range of technological experiments. Notable among these are an ocean-monitoring satellite, a demonstrator for ultra-small multispectral cameras, and a specialized satellite featuring a deployable antenna that utilizes origami-style folding to remain compact during launch before expanding to twenty-five times its size in orbit.
These satellites were originally intended to launch on a Japanese Epsilon-S rocket, but significant delays in that program following multiple test-firing failures led JAXA to reassign the mission to Rocket Lab’s Electron. Exolaunch’s involvement goes beyond providing hardware, as the company is also responsible for end-to-end mission integration services. The final integration of the eight spacecraft took place at the University of Auckland in New Zealand before they were transported to the Māhia launch site for final preparations.
The selection of Exolaunch for this mission underscores the growing demand for flexible and reliable launch integration services as small satellite activity expands across Asia. The EXOpod NOVA deployers are particularly suited for this task, as they allow for increased satellite mass and volume compared to previous standards, enabling more complex and powerful designs. This mission marks another milestone in the collaboration between international space agencies and commercial deployment specialists, further streamlining the process of getting innovative technology into a functional orbital environment.
