Cost stops Japan joining space-faring nations club

The Yomiuri Shimbun ^ | 10/21/2003 | Keiko Chino

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

China became the third country to send a man into space last week, with the successful launch of the Shenzhou 5 rocket. The launch comes 42 years after manned spaceflight was pioneered by the former Soviet Union and the United States. The long delay begs the question, what makes manned space travel so difficult?

The Shenzhou 5 successfully landed on grassland in Inner Mongolia on Thursday morning after about 21 hours of space flight.

The Chinese "taikonaut" got out of the capsule-shaped spacecraft, waving and smiling to the waiting cameras. It was scene familiar to anyone who has watched the return of one of Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.

It epitomizes one of the two principal ways that a person can be launched into space.

In this method, the astronaut is accommodated in a capsule-shaped spacecraft sitting atop a rocket. The spacecraft returns to Earth with the aid of a parachute. This method is used by China and Russia.

It was also the method used for the first manned spaceflight by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961. The United States also used this method when it made its first manned flight only a month later, and also for the Apollo moon missions.

The other way of reaching space is to use reusable vehicles, such as the United States' space shuttle.

Unlike rockets, which cannot be reused, the shuttle can fly again after suitable maintenance and repair. The United States began developing the shuttle in the belief that this kind of reusable craft would lower costs.

The shuttle made its first space flight in 1981, after a difficult and protracted period of development.

The problems involved in developing such a craft led the Soviet Union to abandon its rival shuttle project after an unmanned experimental flight in 1988.

European countries also gave up their own space shuttle development program. Although Japan has considered a similar project, it is still at an embryonic stage.

The difficulties involved in building a reusable craft are one reason why the world has waited so long for a third member of the space-faring club. China has joined the club only by resorting to old-style technology obtained from Russia.

The duration of manned space flights has been varied. The United States' first flight lasted just 16 minutes. At the other end of the spectrum, a Russian astronaut set a record of 437 days in space between January 1994 and March 1995.

What all these flights have in common, however, are the basic technologies required to launch people into space, keep them safe while they are up there, and then return them safely to Earth.

The difference between this and unmanned spaceflight is the extra care that must be taken to ensure the reliability and safety of a manned craft.

All parts of the craft must have a low probability of malfunction. Onboard systems need two or three backup systems to ensure continued function of the craft in the event of a failure. Some provision for emergency escape of the astronauts also is necessary.

Space experts say that the reliability of technologies for manned space flight must be incomparably higher than those for unmanned space flight. Naturally, that means costs also are higher.

Yasunori Matogawa, associate executive director of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said, "Manned space flight symbolizes the reliability of modern technology."

In addition to the technology common to all space systems, a manned spacecraft needs various technologies to maintain human life in space.

The technologies cover a wide range of factors, including controlling temperature, atmospheric pressure and air circulation, as well as protecting astronauts from cosmic radiation.

In Japan, there has been little open debate over the desirability of starting a manned space program. The main reason for that is cost.

In the bureaucratic world of Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district it is taken as a given that any talk of manned spaceflight is taboo. Officials assume that fiscal authorities would never approve the spending required for such a program.

That is a problem shared by countries around the world, leading experts to suggest that international cooperation is the only way forward for space exploration.

If that scenario comes true, then nations without their own space technology may be put at a disadvantage, and find themselves forced to accept unfavorable conditions to participate in international projects.

The first requests for such cooperation came from the United States, which first sought Japan's participation in some projects in 1970.

Japan turned down the offer that time because only six months had passed since the establishment of the National Space Development Agency of Japan, predecessor of JAXA. Officials felt it was too soon for Japan to contribute much to the U.S. space programs.

Some European countries and Canada did offer to cooperate with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, including on development of the laboratory unit of the shuttle.

In exchange for that, their nationals were allowed to board shuttles and became astronauts earlier than Japan.

That has been a source of regret for many in Japan, and has been used to argue that the country must further develop its own space program if it is to participate more fully in future international projects.

Space development officials also fear that any decision against a manned program will diminish public interest in space flight.

The government's response to these fears remains ambiguous.

A long-term plan drawn up by the Space Activities Commission of the Education, Science and Technology Ministry in September said, "Since many citizens have a high level of interest in space exploration, it is important to take into account a wide variety of views when considering future plans."

[Conspiracy Guy]

Chinese Minister of Space, Chin Nowgone says; "Someday man will walk on the moon and return. We envision reusable spacecraft will someday cut the cost of space travel. Someday Soviet Union will disolve. We think space technology will spin off into civilian products such as phones without wires and powdered breakfast drink that only need water."

Heck all those years under government controlled media were good for something.

[RightWhale]

Japan's lack of interest in space projects is due to the same cause as their lack of interest in things military including the A-bomb. They will come out of their shell, probably of necessity, but who knows when. They can certainly afford a manned space exploration program.