Space Access ’11: Misuzu Onuki

Misuzu Onuki
Space Activities in Japan

• Japanese space budget and revenues are both decreasing…
• Only thing that is increasing: Number of companies that have stopped their space activities
• Space revenues are almost the size of the government space budget
• New Japanese Basic Space Law went into effect in 2009
• Japan has a great potential to become a user of commercial spaceflight in terms of passengers and experiments
• A lot of activities in terms of promotions (winning space trips)
• Large Japanese companies are beginning development work on commercial space vehicles for last two years
• Human spaceflight concept is beingg developed — HTV-R – with re-entry capsule
• Concept for human-rated H-II rocket
• No domestic company working on orbital facility — Japan has MOU with Bigelow Aerospace — one of six MOUs
• Kibo Utilization Forum — 13 research groups working on different aspects of how to use Japan’s ISS module
• Trying to develop a space washing machine
• Working on creating a domestic Commercial Human Spaceflight Promotion Association in order to work on human spaceflight standards, regulatory structure and other matters