|
When Toda visited the Japan Explosives Society in Toranomon very early in 1954, they promptly concluded: "There was only one person who knew enough about explosives. That's Doctor Murata, who used to be a Naval Technical Officer but now worked at Nippon Oil & Fats (NOF)."
Murata was working at NOF's Taketoyo explosive plant on the Chita Peninsula. Toda immediately contacted him and managed to make an appointment to visit on February 6, 1954. At that time, Taketoyo was an inconvenient place to access, and Toda caught a train from Tokyo that left at 23:30 on February 5, had a nap on the carriage, and arrived in Nagoya in the early morning at 4:30 Inside the jet black Nagoya Station building, Toda noticed one small light. As he got close to it, he realized it was a sign for a bathhouse, and he indulged in a morning bath to kill time. After having a quick breakfast at the station canteen, which opened just past 5 o'clock in the morning, Toda got on a train going in the opposite direction, and after changing trains at Obu, finally arrived at Taketoyo. It was an incredibly long trip but people in those days were tough.
Toda got off the train at Taketoyo Station at 6:30 a.m. on February 6 and walked a while before arriving at NOF's Taketoyo plant, only to find the main gate was still shut because it was too early. A sign said that working hours start from 8:30 a.m. To kill time, Toda took a little stroll and walked up a mountain path along the barbed-wire fences around the plant. Blown by the chilly winds of early February, Toda asked himself, "What kind of work am I going to do with this rocket?" as he looked over the huge plant site beneath him.
When the time came, Toda went down to the main building of NOF and told them the reason for his visit. Murata was already there waiting for him. After his first glance at Murata, Toda thought, "He looks like a very methodical kind of person." After a brief greeting, Toda promptly asked Murata for cooperation with his rocket development plan. To his surprise, the top Naval explosive researcher answered immediately. "I agree. Let's try our best," said Murata. His positive response was better than I could have expected.
Negotiations on that day referred to propellants that could be quickly provided -- the double base (smokeless powder) for rocket bombs to attack enemy tanks and airplanes from a short distance. These were 123 mm-long hollow cylinders with an outside diameter of 9.5 mm and an inside diameter of 2.0 mm that looked like macaroni. Toda had an impression of how small they were, but made up his mind to take some back with him and talk to Itokawa anyway. He then put dozens of these propellants in his bag and returned to Tokyo.
Upon his return to Tokyo, Toda showed these "macaroni-like" propellants to the AVSA group, who was shocked at how small they were in comparison to the large-scale size of their ambitions. Disappointed members were lost for words. Finally, Itokawa broke the silence. "It's OK. The cost won't be so expensive this way and we can conduct many experiments. We don't have time to fuss over the size of the propellant. Let's start the experiment promptly."
Some people offered their opposition: "How can we put the observation equipment aboard using such small propellants?"
Itokawa replied without a moment's hesitation as if he had expected the question. "To make a vehicle fly up to 100 km in altitude, we need various data. To obtain such data, we need to launch it several times. If we make one huge rocket and launch it every time, the cost will be enormous. For a while, we can do nothing but make a small rocket adjusted to this tiny little solid propellant."
Itokawa had made his decision. And just like that, rocket development at the University of Tokyo began with a main solid propellant costing 5,000-yen per unit.
|
