SPACE INDEX COMPANIES INSIGHTS SECTORS PRODUCTS NEWS BLOG ANSWERS RESEARCH ABOUT FOR COMPANIES BUILD / 2026.06.03
JAXA logo JAXA Japan's national space agency conducting launch operations, satellite development, Earth observation, asteroid exploration, and human spaceflight research vs PLD Space Develops reusable launch vehicles for dedicated and rideshare small satellite missions, with in-house liquid propulsion and vertically integrated manufacturing PLD Space logo
HEAD-TO-HEAD1 shared sector
JAXA PLD Space
Founded 2003 2011
Headquarters Chofu, Tokyo, Japan Elche, Spain
Type government private
Status operating operating
Employees 335
Total funding $90.2M
Latest round Debt Financing
Sectors Launch Services, Earth Observation & Remote Sensing, Planetary Exploration Launch Services, Space Propulsion, Suborbital & High-Altitude
Products listed 42 4
Federal contracts
Launches 3 (33%)
Leaders listed Hiroshi Yamakawa, Sonoko Watanabe, Masashi Okada Ezequiel Sanchez, Raul Torres, Raul Verdu
News mentions 0 0
SHARED SECTORS
FREQUENTLY ASKED

How do JAXA and PLD Space compare?

Both companies work in Launch Services. JAXA was founded in 2003 and PLD Space in 2011.

Which has more launches, JAXA or PLD Space?

PLD Space leads with 3 tracked launches (33% success rate).

Numbers refresh on every render against the live Space Index database. Federal contract data from USAspending.gov; launches from LaunchLibrary2.