The aim of ETS-VIII is to develop a state-of-the-art communications satellite about which we can boast to the world. When ETS-VIII opens its two antennae, which will be the size of a tennis court the world's largest, it will enable us to communicate no matter where we are. Its range will include areas that are normally out of mobile-phone range, such as the mountains and the sea. It will allow people to communicate even when a natural disaster such as an earthquake disrupts the ground communications network. The smaller consumer communications devices become, the larger communications satellites must be. That's why we are developing various satellite technologies, such as improved transmitters and enlarged solar batteries. I have been the manager of this project since development started seven years ago. At the beginning, we drafted a simple design for the satellite, and we repeated the following cycle: design, experimental production, experiment, and re-design with the results of the experiment reflected. We went through this cycle several times before figuring out the complete picture of the satellite. As there are that cannot be tested on the ground, we exercised our ingenuity in conducting various experiments: a weightless experiment conducted on an airplane (which gave me terrible airsickness), and the mounting of a smaller model onto a rocket. The satellite is going through its final tests and will be completed this summer. We will spare no effort to make the technologies developed through this process contribute not only to Japan, but also to the lives people around the world. MORE >>