JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Q. What lasting impressions do you have of the Space Shuttle’s missions?

Astronauts Takao Doi and Winston Scott waiting for the SPARTAN satellite to approach (courtesy: NASA)

I remember STS-87 in November 1997, when Takao Doi flew on the shuttle. At the time my role was to assist Japanese astronaut, and STS-87 was my first time doing this at the Johnson Space Center. That was the flight on which Doi conducted the first spacewalk by a Japanese astronaut, and it happened that there was an urgent problem to take care of. The SPARTAN satellite was released by the shuttle’s robotic arm, and failed to go into a proper orbit, so Doi and another astronaut, Winston Scott, had to retrieve it by hand. It’s hard enough to grab a satellite with the Space Shuttle’s robotic arm, but they had to use their own hands!
So with NASA’s assistance, we used the virtual reality lab they had just completed at the Johnson Space Center to simulate being an astronaut and make sure the satellite could be grabbed safely. Once we tried and confirmed that it was okay, we had Doi perform the work. From then on we Japanese staff continued to use various methods to verify that the work our crew were to perform could be done safely.

Q. What do you think the shuttle missions taught you?

Space Shuttle Flight Control Room (courtesy: NASA)

I think I found out what working in space is like, primarily by participating in space experiments with the Space Shuttle. And I think it also taught me how to manage integration of activities. Meanwhile, NASA conducted nine missions between 1995 and 1998 in which the Space Shuttle docked with the Russian space station Mir and prepared for the construction of the ISS. Then the shuttle flew 37 flights to complete the ISS by July 2011. I was able to observe things from NASA’s perspective from the time of those Shuttle-Mir missions up to the completion of the ISS, so I got a good understanding of what manned spaceflight is like, including things like astronaut training.
I was particularly impressed with how NASA responded after accidents. After the Columbia disaster, the first thing the Johnson Space Center did was to form a crisis response team and another team to determine the cause of the accident. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board with non-NASA members was established. The day after the accident, those of us working on the ISS program began meeting about how to continue operation of the space station, even though we had no information on when the Space Shuttle would fly again. I also observe for myself the demonstration tests that NASA ran in preparation of return to flights. They were very thorough, and I was amazed that they spent so much money to do this. It made me realize that if in the future Japan builds a manned spacecraft, we will need to prepare the same way for unforeseen accidents.
I was also in charge of training the Kibo flight control team, so I was very interested in what the Space Shuttle’s flight control team was doing. Lots of different things happen on each mission, so I always carefully watched the flight control team, especially the flight director, to learn how they responded to various situations. The Space Shuttle and ISS missions had different timeframes, but I referred a lot to the basics of how they responded. Now the Kibo Mission Control Room at the Tsukuba Space Centers staffed by about 60 people, working around the clock. Relevant Lessons learned from Space Shuttle flight control has been incorporated.

Q. How do you think the Space Shuttle has contributed to Japan’s space program?

Space Shuttle docked to the ISS (courtesy: NASA)

It’s made two contributions. The first is that it allowed many people, including Japanese astronauts, to go into space and explore a new frontier. In that way, it gave the public a clearer picture of manned spaceflight. Because of the Space Shuttle, we have developed a more intimate connection with space.
The second is that the shuttle kept flying until the ISS was complete. Without it we wouldn’t have been able to launch Kibo nor to assemble the ISS. To ensure safety after the Columbia accident, the cost of each shuttle launch increased to about $1 billion, and even so the shuttle flew about 20 more times. I think it was America’s pride as a leader in space exploration that kept the program going until the ISS was finished, and for this I am very grateful to NASA.

Q. What do you think about the idea of Japan developing its own manned spacecraft?

Cygnus, an unmanned resupply spacecraft (courtesy: Orbital Sciences Corporation)

Now that the Space Shuttle has been retired, the only way to take people up to the ISS is on Russia’s Soyuz. It’s a reliable spacecraft, but with only one way to reach the ISS, it leaves us with no alternatives if an accident were to occur. In fact, the Soyuz spacecraft was used in place of the Space Shuttle to transport people to the ISS following the Columbia accident, when shuttle were grounded. That’s why it’s very important to build a new manned spacecraft.
Although NASA is continuing to operate the ISS following the Space Shuttle’s retirement, it has announced that it will contract out transporting people and cargo into low Earth orbit to the private sector. So it’s asking commercial companies to take the lead in developing new space transport vehicles in the U.S. Meanwhile, Japan has reached the point where we’ve been able to build the Kibo module and the KOUNOTORI cargo ship, which will supply the space station. Our next goal is to make KOUNOTORI retrievable, and we are also researching the basic technology that will lead us towards the development of a manned spacecraft. But so far national policy has not been determined regarding what sort of manned spacecraft we will build or what we want to do with manned spaceflight.
Speaking of technological capabilities, KOUNOTORI has received worldwide acclaim for the engineering behind its rendezvous and docking, and even companies outside Japan are using it as a model. One of the spacecraft under development in the United States is the Cygnus, from Orbital Sciences Corporation, which has signed a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services contract with NASA. The Cygnus uses the same Proximity Communication System, known as PROX, as KOUNOTORI. PROX is an important piece of communications hardware to guide spacecraft towards the ISS and safely to be berthed. A Japanese company has been providing Orbital Sciences with this system thanks to KOUNOTORI’s demonstration of its capabilities.
Another area where Japan has expertise is water and air recycling technology, which I think could be used for developing toilets and other spacecraft water treatment systems, atmosphere revitalization equipment, and so on.

Q. How do you think Japan’s ISS program will develop from this point on?

Kibo’s robotic arm (courtesy: JAXA/NASA)

The ISS is now in full utilization and will operate until at least 2020. First of all, we’ll commit to conducting experiments in space until 2015. Our experiments have already started to yield results, but I think we’ll get many more in the future. I’d also like to see Kibo expand the way we use space by conducting experiments related to culture, liberal arts and social sciences, in addition to our hard-science experiments. One new use for Kibo will be a first-of-its-kind test scheduled for the fall of 2012, when its robotic arm will release a small satellite.
Then, based on our results up to that point, from 2016 onward I hope we’ll narrow down our work on ISS to the areas where it has proven most effective. Countries have also been talking about using the ISS as a tested for technology demonstration that will lead to the next phase of manned space exploration.

Q. What are your expectations for Japan’s manned space program from this point on?

The United States is saying that it wants to work with other countries in the next phase of manned space exploration. In Japan’s case we have financial reasons that leave us no choice but to collaborate with other countries. The United States’ manned spaceflight budget is more than 10 times the size of Japan’s, but manned space exploration requires a massive investment that is even larger than that. I believe we should fully collaborate with other countries because space is a frontier for all of humanity.
With successes like Kibo and KOUNOTORI and our presence as an ISS partner, I think Japan has carved a place for itself as an advanced space-faring nation. I think this corresponds to our investment thus far, and we’ve accumulated a good amount of technology. After coming so far, we won’t stop. I expect that our country will decide to continue its investment. It is vital that we keep going.
Part of the Japanese people’s national character is our humility, but shouldn’t we be proud of our world-leading space technology? I believe that Japan should be more confident and proactively participate in future international efforts.