Yokohama ¨C A Tokyo-based rocket startup said on Wednesday that it will test-launch a prototype in the United States in December using an American engine, aiming to achieve the first U.S.-Japan joint commercial launch and address Japan¡¯s rocket shortage.

The global race for commercial launch vehicles has been driven by SpaceX, which on Tuesday conducted a ninth test for its fully-reusable Starship. U.S. rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable launcher plans.

But Japan lacks cost-competitive launchers at home, which the government sees as a bottleneck in its efforts to double the domestic space industry¡¯s size to ?8 trillion ($55.4 billion) by the early 2030s.

Innovative Space Carrier (ISC) said its ASCA 1.0 reusable launcher will conduct a 100-meter flight and landing test in Spaceport America in New Mexico, using a Hadley rocket engine from U.S.-manufacturer Ursa Major.

Starting at a low altitude, ISC will repeat ¡°ninja training-like¡± tests toward the goal of building an orbital launch vehicle by 2028 to cater to emerging Japanese satellite makers, ISC chief executive Kojiro Hatada told a news conference.

¡°Japan¡¯s space industry needs its own space transportation services ... but there¡¯s no need to do everything ourselves to achieve it,¡± he said at partner JFE Engineering¡¯s factory near Tokyo.

Founded in 2022 by former government official Hatada, ISC has signed partnerships, including with the British 3D printer firm WAAM3D, to fast-track the launcher development.

ISC has secured Japanese government rocket development subsidies along with Space One and Toyota-backed Interstellar Technologies. It aims to lower the per-launch cost of a rocket capable of lifting a 100-kilogram satellite to space to ?500 million in the long run, Hatada said.

Ursa Major¡¯s Hadley engine has been used by U.S. company Stratolaunch for hypersonic vehicle tests and has been granted a U.S. export control permit so that it can be equipped on an ISC rocket.

With ISC, ¡°we look forward to continuing the partnership to further safe, cost-effective access to space,¡± Ursa Major Chief Growth Officer Ben Nicholson said in an emailed statement.