Japanese
Space Program
To set
foot on the soil of the asteroids, to lift by hand a rock from the Moon, to
observe Mars from a distance of several tens of kilometres, to land on its
satellite or even on its surface, what can be more fantastic? From the moment
of using rocket devices a new great era will begin in astronomy: the epoch of
the more intensive study of the firmament.
- Konstantin
E. Tsiolkovsky, 1896.
The
Space Age commenced during the early 1950s, when the Wehrmacht –and latter the
Luftwaffe– perfected the Raketewissenschaft in an initial effort to
develop a vehicle able to place a warhead in the distant Soviet industrial
cities beyond the Urals, and latter they understood the immense possibilities
related with the ability to place cargo in space: from scientific research to
military superiority.
But
among the Great Powers, Japan stands as the only one which didn’t participate
in the “Space Race” of the 1960s an eary 1970s, with Germany and the United
States as protagonist, and which culminated in August 8, 1973, when the German
landing pod Mondkaninchen and its crew of three landed in Moon’s Mare
Serenitatis.
The
international situation and financial constrains forced Japan to take a more
pragmatic position in regards to the “space race”. The Japanese Space Agency
–founded in 1961– has directed its efforts mostly to the communication and
military uses of the space, first by itself, and latter in cooperation with the
Agence Spatiale Française and the Commonwealth Space Consortium.
In recent years the Japanese space program has put the emphasis in
non-military aspects, while extolling advances in technology and promoting
Japanese efforts to penetrate the market for commercial space services.
However, the JSA have not ceased to seek the capacity to provide optimal
space-based support for their terrestrial military forces.
The JSA currently operate about 20 types of space systems for military
and civilian uses, including a manned space station (the now inactive Fukuko),
reconnaissance, surveillance, launch detection and attack warning, support for
strategic and tactical targeting, and the destruction of enemy spacecraft.
Other satellites have a variety of missions, including radar elaboration,
atmospheric density modeling, and spacecraft technology experimentation. Most
of the remaining Japanese satellite systems have dual military-civilian use.
These include communications, navigational, meteorological, earth resources,
radar arraying oceanographic satellites, and various other experimental or
developmental payloads.
By far the smallest category of Japanese satellites (about 35 percent)
is assessed to be dedicated completely to military purposes, while the
remaining satellites have dual or civilian and/or scientific purposes. These
include interplanetary probes and biological research, environmental, and
materials processing satellites.
The JSA continue to maintain and improve their operational satellite
networks dedicated to the dual purpose of support of terrestrial military
forces and peaceful and non-military research. In example, the JSA satellites,
such as the Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellites (RORSAT), which can be used
to locate and target enemy military forces, are clearly dedicated to support
war fighting capabilities. On the other hand, the JSA has created the Pacific
Navigation Satellite System (PANASS), as a space navigation system for Japanese
civil aviation planes, merchant vessels, and fishing boats. Based on its 12
satellites, PANASS have a Pacific-wide, three-dimensional navigation
capability. Other satellite systems, for communication, meteorological, and
geodesic purposes provide support to the Japanese Empire's national economy and
the interests of science and international cooperation.
The Japanese manned space program occupies a unique position in Tokyo's
space efforts. It is heavily publicized to promote the peaceful nature and
technological advance of Japan's space program. The JSA initiated a very
successful manned space program in 1990, concluding with the collocation in
geo-stationary orbit of the Fukuko space laboratory eight years latter.
After 27 months of continuous manned presence, however, the crew was
recalled due to the growing costs and the technical problems the JSA
encountered with the expansion modules they plan to launch to the Fukuko.
This hiatus in manned space activity, which reportedly will continue until
2004, represents a minor setback for the Japanese space laboratory program. It
must be emphasized, however, that the JSA have made great progress in
manned-space activity during the past several years, and the scheduled
improvements include enhanced solar energy and electrical power systems,
greater computer capabilities, and five docking ports. With Fukuko’s
modernization, Japan have probably begun their permanent manned presence in
space.
The JSA announced that international crew visits to the Fukuko
complex will start in 2005, beginning with an Indonesian astronaut. An Iranian
and a Brazilian are scheduled to visit Fukuko on separate flights during
2006, and the Japanese are evidently discussing similar missions with other
countries. At least one such mission a year can be expected during Fukuko’s
lifetime. Fukuko will conduct materials-processing experiments,
semiconductor devices, infrared and optical detectors, and electro-optical
systems.
The Japanese space program's success is due largely to its versatile and
reliable inventory of space launch vehicles (SLVs) and its space launch and
support facilities. The JSA heavily relies in solid fuel rockets to place
payloads in space, but it also counts with a space shuttle orbiter, the Sakigake,
and its launch system, Suisei. The initial launch, flight, and return of
Sakigake, conducted unmanned and entirely under automatic control on 15
November 1992, was a complete success. The demonstrated capability to conduct
the mission unmanned, especially during landing, is an impressive technical
achievement. When the Sakigake and the associated Suisei in the
heavy-lift mode are fully operational, Japan will have a tremendous capacity to
assemble and maintain in orbit large spacecraft and space structures; and the
JSA will have greatly enhanced their ability to return large space station
components, spacecraft, and significant amounts of materials to earth using
their shuttle orbiter.
Development of a heavy-lift launch system with its main engines on the
core vehicle rather than the orbiter gives the system the versatility to launch
either an orbiter or other very heavy payloads. The Sakigake, for
example, will be able to place payloads of over 100,000 kilograms into
low-Earth orbit, and potential payloads for the Sakigake include modules
for a large space station, components for manned and unmanned interplanetary
missions, and perhaps directed-energy ASAT and ballistic missile defence
weapons and other space-based components of the Japanese TMD program.
The most ambitious space goal the Japanese have set is a long-stay mission
in the Moon’s surface. To undertake such a mission, the Japanese would need to
lift very heavy components into low Earth orbit and to assemble them there. The
Sakigake will provide that capability. They would have to sustain the
crew in moon’s surface for at least a year. A manned mission to the Moon is a
major reason for the long stays Japanese crews will have to undertake on the Fukuko
enhanced facility. The cost of such a mission would be tremendous, but the
Japanese public would most likely expend the funds. Although very challenging,
the JSA will be able to launch a manned mission to the Moon in the second
decade of the 21st century and probably could conduct a non-stop fly-by mission
to Mars before the end of that decade.
The high priority the Japanese are giving to their space program is
reflected in the rapid overall growth of the program –a program that is
absorbing a large share of the nation's most advanced and productive
technology. Since the 1980s, the estimated costs of the Japanese space effort
have more than doubled, owing largely to programs for the manned space
laboratory, new launch vehicles, supporting facilities, and the shuttle
orbiter. The projected rate of growth in the space program, driven by the ambitious
space-based manned program and future communications satellites, is expected to
outpace overall trends in both military spending and GNP well into the future.
