Hakuto (ハクト) or formerly White Label Space (ホワイトレーベルスペース) was formed in early 2008 by a group of experienced space professionals inspired by the challenge of the Google Lunar X PRIZE. Hakuto is named after the white rabbit in Japanese mythology. The team aims to finance its Google Lunar X PRIZE mission from advertising expenditure of large global companies.
Contents
History
In 2008, White Label Space was founded in the Netherlands. In 2009, the team registered with the Google Lunar X PRIZE. On September 10, 2010 the team also established White Label Space Japan LLC, a Limited Liability Company registered in Japan. On June 11, 2012, it was decided to name unit 2 Rover prototype (PM-2) "White Rabbit" (「はくと」). On January 30, 2013, it was announced that the team relocated its operating headquarters from the Netherlands to Japan. The change included a change of leadership from Steve Allen to co-founder Takeshi Hakamada, who has been leading operations in Japan. On July 15, 2013 the team officially changed the team name to Hakuto (「ハクト」). On December 4, 2013, the team successfully crowd-funded the development of unit 3 Rover prototype (PM-3). On February 19, 2014, Hakuto was nominated to the Milestone Prize, as one of five teams, in the mobility subsystem section.
Launch
In December, 2016 Hakuto decided to go with Team Indus and launch their craft on reliable and robust launcher PSLV of ISRO. Team Indus has already contracted for a PSLV spaceflight on 28th December, 2017. Team Hakuto will be sharing space on this flight booked by Team Indus.
Locations
The team is based in Japan and is led by Takeshi Hakamada. Lead engineer is Kazuya Yoshida, a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Tohoku University in Japan. Hakuto is operated by ispace Inc. and is supported by the Space Robotics Lab of Tohoku University.
Partners
As of January 2008, the team had nine official partners: