Editorial
Russian space workhorse Soyuz could point the way for Japanese program
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Japanese national Soichi Noguchi and two other astronauts blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday in a perfect launch.
On Wednesday the spacecraft will dock at the International Space Station (ISS), where Noguchi and the other astronauts will stay for five months.
Noguchi is the second Japanese astronaut to travel on a Soyuz spacecraft, after Toyohiro Akiyama made a journey 19 years ago. In the future, compatriots Satoshi Furukawa and Akihiko Hoshide will travel to and from the ISS aboard the Soyuz.
For Japan, Noguchi's trip provides the chance to come into contact with manned spacecraft technology differing from that of the U.S. -- and consider the underlying ideology. We hope that Japan will absorb knowledge from the trip and put this to use in its development of manned spaceship technology.
Soyuz spacecraft have made 108 successful launches since the inaugural lift-off in 1967. Early during the Soyuz program, four people lost their lives, but there hasn't been a fatal accident for almost 40 years. Compared with the U.S. Space Shuttle program, in which 14 people have died in two accidents since the first flight in 1981, the Soyuz program appears relatively stable. Furthermore, few launches are delayed.
Japan has a lesson to learn from the ideology behind the Russian space program -- the idea of polishing "old" technology from the 1960s. The Soyuz has undergone three model changes, but there have been no major alterations to the design, which incorporates disposable spacecraft.
NASA's reusable Space Shuttle, which was developed in the image of an aircraft, has high maintenance and other associated costs in comparison with the Soyuz. It has also faced the risk of insulating material falling off the external fuel tanks during liftoff and damaging the body of the spacecraft. This danger became a reality in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster of 2003.
The Space Shuttle is due to be retired from service in the autumn of 2010, and after that, astronauts traveling to the ISS will have to rely on the Soyuz. Japan cannot focus its attention on America alone.
International cooperation in manned space technology development has reached a turning point, and scheduled operation of the ISS extends only until 2015. The United States has envisioned manned missions to the moon and Mars, but the future of the programs remain uncertain.
In its manned space technology development, Japan must carefully consider how it will cooperate not only with the U.S., but also with Russia and Europe. When it does this, technology will hold the key to preventing Japan from simply becoming a "guest" in space programs. The HII Transfer Vehicle (HTV), which was successfully demonstrated this year, is one such technological stepping-stone for Japan.
Japan does not possess its own manned space project, but its basic space program decided on in June this year included robot exploration of the moon, with a view to future manned missions. There are huge costs involved, but the main question is whether Japan will put in a serious effort. The issue demands further consideration.
(Mainichi Japan) December 22, 2009