#164 | Earth Return | Ryohei Kobayashi, Elevation Space

#164 | Earth Return | Ryohei Kobayashi, Elevation Space

From Space Business Podcast by spacebusiness

February 14, 2026 · 42 min · Episode 167

About this episode

The episode features Ryohei Kobayashi discussing Elevation Space's efforts in downmass and reentry technologies.

Elevation Space is a Japanese startup working on downmass – bringing things back from space to Earth – leveraging Japan’s strong heritage in reentry and recovery technologies. CEO and co-founder Ryohei Kobayashi in our guest. Enjoy! 🕰️ Timestamps: 0:00 Podcast Intro 01:35 Elevator Pitch03:49 Origin Story09:11 Product & Missions17:22 Payload Strategy18:53 Customers & Use Cases25:05 Post-ISS Future28:45 Milestones32:42 Long-Term Vision37:24 Closing: Japan Space Ecosystem + Sci‑Fi Favorites 🔗 Elevation Space 🏠Website : https://elevation-space.com/en 🔗 Follow us: 🏠Website : https://www.e2mc.space/ 🤝🏻LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/space-business-podcast/ 🌐Socials: https://linktr.ee/spacebusinesspodcast 🔗 Follow Raphael: ◇ Twitter/X - https://x.com/RaphaelE2MC 🔷LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raphaelroettgen 🌐Instagram - https://instagram.com/raphael_space/ To Learn more about Space & the Space Economy: "To Infinity" – Raphael’s Revised Introduction to the Space EconomyThis book provides an insightful look into the space economy, its current trends, and future opportunities.📚 https://a.co/d/6jIQ2LO edX/EPFL's Space Economy MOOCThis course…

People in this episode

Host: spacebusiness

Guest: Ryohei Kobayashi

Topics covered

  • downmass
  • reentry technologies
  • space recovery
  • Japanese startups
  • space economy

Keywords

  • downmass
  • reentry
  • recovery technologies
  • Japanese startup
  • space economy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Elevation Space, Japan, NASA

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