Iwaya Giken Corporation, based in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, is conducting research and development on space travel using a gas balloon.
In June, the company successfully sent a hamster in an airtight cabin developed by the company to an altitude of 23 km in the stratosphere and brought it back to Earth safely. The company plans to conduct a manned high altitude flight test during fiscal year 2023.
Keisuke Iwaya, the 36-year-old president of the company, says, “I hope that balloon…