Copernicus Sust

First vehicle

Nicolaus 1

Our first rocket, planned for in-house development. A single-stage, fully uncrewed vehicle targeting a maximum altitude of at least 100 km. One flight plan will test live telemetry, onboard recording, unpowered descent, ocean splashdown, and vehicle recovery.

November 2027 · Conditional earliest target · Hardware not built※1

Explore Nicolaus 1Master Plan
Exterior concept of the slender white Nicolaus 1 against a star field, with four fins at its base.
Nicolaus 1 · Exterior concept

Our core business

Energy,
beyond Earth.

Space energy is the core business of Copernicus Sust Space. We aim to generate, store, manage, and deliver energy to the people and systems operating in space.

Explore Space Energy
  1. Generate
  2. Store
  3. Deliver
  4. Manage

Our development, today

Today, we are building
evidence before flight.

We are preparing the design and verification environment for our own vehicles. Nicolaus Studio V1.1 is a local Mac candidate, with a limited GUI review recorded on September 8, 2026.

  1. 01 · Defined in documents

    Requirements and concepts

    Plans, design targets, and exterior concepts exist. Flight-success conditions are defined separately from flight results.

  2. 02 · Local candidate

    Nicolaus Studio V1.1

    Numerical experiments and an illustrative 3D preview are separate features. Real-vehicle flight prediction is not implemented; the app is not publicly distributed.

  3. 03 · Next gates

    Evidence before flight

    Flight hardware, a dedicated factory, a launch site, permits, and flight results do not yet exist. Hazardous hardware work remains on hold.

View Current StatusSee the development plan
Underside concept view of Nicolaus 1 in a bright studio, with one central engine and four fins in a cross arrangement.
Nicolaus 1 · Underside concept

Flight success criteria

Flight alone
is not success.

A maximum altitude of at least 100 km confirmed by multiple pre-defined measurements; transmission to the ground and onboard recording; an ocean splashdown that meets pre-defined criteria; and discovery and recovery of the vehicle itself. A flight counts as one complete success only when all four conditions are met.

Quantitative acceptance criteria: OPEN※2

Target maximum altitude of at least 100 kilometerskm minimum target · No flight attempt yet
Four conditions define one complete successConditions
Three complete successes plus a reviewBefore transition decision
Nicolaus 1 flight plan

Lower cost by design

Lower cost begins
at the design stage.

We iterate design and analysis digitally, concentrating funding on manufacturing, testing, facilities, operations, and recovery. Once reuse is established, we will build evidence that the same vehicle can fly again safely and use it to reduce the cost per flight.

Unverified long-term cost hypothesisAn unverified, not formally adopted long-term hypothesis of 75,000 yen per flight

Per flight · Not formally adopted※3

An exploratory long-term hypothesis, not a ticket price or an achieved cost. Vehicle, timeframe, cost scope, and reuse conditions remain undecided.

Copernicus Sust Space

Master Plan

What we aim to achieve, when we aim to achieve it, and which conditions must be met before moving forward. We publish decided planning dates separately from timing that is still undecided.※4

Read the plan
2027.11
First flight targetConditional earliest target
2028.11
Milestone openTarget date retained
Gate
Evidence before expansionAdvance on evidence, without inventing a year

AI and human responsibility

Think fast. Decide GO with care.

Development AI

Accelerate design, calculation, and comparison

Supports requirement definition, model creation, anomaly discovery, documentation, and review preparation.

Safety AI

Detect danger signals and STOP when required

The design policy allows Safety AI to issue STOP only within pre-defined and approved conditions. It is not implemented today. Only accountable humans may decide GO, release a STOP, restart, or accept risk.

Human responsibility

Humans retain final responsibility

Accountable humans decide GO, HOLD, STOP, release of STOP, risk acceptance, crewed GO, legal matters, quality, and contracts.

How Space Energy moves forward

A TRIBUTE · 1473–1543

Nicolaus
CopernicusA tribute.

The respect behind our name. The responsibility we carry forward.

Read our tribute
Portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus, painted by an unknown artist around 1580.
Portrait · circa 1580

Notes

  1. ※1
    November 2027 is the earliest target, only if all gates are satisfied. Flight hardware has not been built.
  2. ※2
    Quantitative acceptance criteria for measurement error and splashdown have not yet been set.
  3. ※3
    This is an exploratory target per flight. It is not a formally adopted target, current cost, sales price, or achieved result. The vehicle, timeframe, cost scope, and reuse conditions remain undecided.
  4. ※4
    November 2027: Earliest target, only if every condition is met. November 2028: Date retained; exact milestone remains undecided.