Tokyo, Japan – September 27, 2024 – SPACE WALKER, Inc. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Akihide Manabe; hereinafter referred to as “SPACE WALKER”) has established an Advisory Board and is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Fletcher, a former Chief Engineer of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as an Advisory Board member starting on October 1st, 2024.

From left to right: CTO Dr. Koichi Yonemoto, newly appointed Advisory Board member Michael Fletcher, and CEO Akihide Manabe

Establishment of the Advisory Board

SPACE WALKER announces the establishment of an Advisory Board to further accelerate technology development and strengthen international business expansion. In an increasingly competitive global landscape, the deep knowledge, extensive insights and rich experience of professionals in the aerospace industry will support SPACE WALKER’s growth. Together with this group of leading experts, SPACE WALKER will continue corporate growth and push space development forward to a sustainable future.

Newly Appointed Advisory Board Member 

Michael Fletcher President, MJF Consulting, LLC Michael Fletcher is President of MJF Consulting which provides management consultant services to US and Japanese companies in the space sector.   Mr. Fletcher spent over 30 years at NASA as a researcher, systems engineer and project manager before retiring in 2020 as Chief Engineer for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (NASA Headquarters), and Technical Advisor to Partnerships at the Ames Research Center.    In his role as Technical Advisor to Partnerships, Mr. Fletcher promoted the NASA Ames-JAXA relationship and fostered B2B exchanges and events. Mr. Fletcher is a former Mansfield Fellow and spent a year in Tokyo from 2016-2017, working at MEXT, CAO, MOD and JAXA on topics of space and aeronautics policy. Mr. Fletcher earned a BS degree in Aerospace Engineering from the California State Polytechnic University (Pomona, CA) and a SM degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA).

Comment from Michael Fletcher  

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join SPACE WALKER’s Advisory Board and to be part of the SPACE WALKER team as they push forward creating the next generation space systems and technology.  This is an exciting time for commercial space, and I look forward to adding my insight and expertise to assist SPACE WALKER with the company’s growth and development.  

Comment from Co-Founder CEO Akihide Manabe

I am so honored to welcome Mike, who has been widely active in the aerospace industry for many years, as our Advisory Board member. In order to achieve SPACE WALKER’s vision, and to structure industries connecting space and Earth, it is necessary to further advance our international business activities. I am confident that Mike’s advice drawing on his broad experience and deep professional knowledge will help accelerate our technology development even further. 

【About SPACE WALKER】
Company name :　SPACE WALKER, Inc.
Head Office :　3-16-12 Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 3rd Floor Daiichi Yokoyama Building
Representative :　CEO Akihide MANABE
Establishment :　December 2017

SPACE WALKER is a university startup conducting research and development of winged reusable suborbital and orbital spaceplanes. The company also develops key components and other related businesses such as next-generation composite tanks―applying space technology to accelerate industry decarbonization on Earth.
SPACE WALKER envisions sustainable space transportation for all, as familiar as commercial air travel today.
For more information, please visit https://space-walker.co.jp/en

For inquiries contact:
Corporate Planning Office / Public Relations
pr@space-walker.co.jp