Jan. 7 (UPI) —<\/span> The Toyota Motor Corporation will invest $44.4 million in Japan-based Interstellar Technologies to help the private spaceflight firm develop rockets to launch satellites into Earth’s orbit.<\/p>\n Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda on Monday announced the automaker’s intent to invest in Interstellar Technologies during the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n While discussing Toyota’s investments in many technologies, Toyoda briefly discussed the company’s latest venture in the field of private spaceflight.<\/p>\n “When it comes to what’s possible when you work together, the sky’s the limit,” Toyoda told CES attendees and media. “Speaking of the sky, we’re exploring rockets, too.”<\/p>\n He said the “future of mobility shouldn’t be limited to just Earth or one car company,” TechCrunch<\/a> and Proactive Investors<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n The investment would make Toyota Japan’s second automaker to venture into space.<\/p>\n Automaker Mitsubishi has developed the H3 rocket for the Japanese space agency JAXA.<\/p>\n Toyoda shared renderings of rocket designs while addressing CES attendees.<\/p>\n Toyota’s space partner Interstellar Technologies is developing a small rocket capable of launching satellites into orbit.<\/p>\n Engineers at Toyota and Interstellar Technologies want to develop a space-based telecommunications network to support Toyota Woven City<\/a>, which is a 175-acre prototype city located in the foothills of Mount Fuji in Japan.<\/p>\n Toyoda announced the first phase of Toyota Woven City will be completed in the fall and become active.<\/p>\n Woven City is a “test course for mobility” to enable inventors to develop, test and validate innovative products and services that “drive innovation and shape a better tomorrow,” according to Toyota.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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