Space Assets Launched by Japan

Space Assets Launched by Japan
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Nations have long defeated each other in space development and exploration, and Japan’s emergence as a major player has greatly heightened its spirit of competition. The government of Japan has spent millions of dollars on space projects. New agencies have been launched, and the country has started cooperating with the United States, China, and Russia. It looks like Japan’s space agencies will soon push NASA and other popular agencies behind the competition. In recent months, the government of Japan opted for new plans for space development and exploration (Vallero, 2006). Back in January 2015, the country launched several space assets and sent a couple of astronauts to space for research purposes. The plan is to discover life on other, distant planets by 2025, and Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has called it a concrete, long-term plan that will guarantee Japan’s prominence in the world. When it comes to the financing of these space projects, the government of Japan raises money from both public and private sectors. Earlier this year, Japan upgraded its satellite system and started sending assets to space (Paus, 1999). It should be noticed that Japan began its space exploration in the 1950s, and the first research group was supervised by Hideo Itokawa from the University of Tokyo. Tiny spaceships or space assets were sent into space, and then rocket sizes increased from 30 cm to 16 m. ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science) and NASDA (National Space Development Agency) are two most developed and famous Japanese space agencies, followed by NAL (National Aerospace Laboratory) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) (Mccray, 2018).
Nano-JASMINE
The Nano-Japan Astrometry Satellite Mission for Infrared Exploration, also known as Nano-JASMINE, is a powerful microsatellite developed and launched by NAO (National Astronomical Observatory). In 2015, the space project initiated by their team was funded by Intelligent Space Systems Laboratory of the University of Tokyo. The same year, this space asset was launched along with Characterizing Exoplanets Satellite (CHEOPS). Both of them were sent into the space to discover life on distant planets. The measurement of Nano-JASMINE is nearly 50.6 by 50.5 by 51.1 centimeters and its weight is only 34 kilograms. Before sending it into space, the experts implanted a small, lightweight telescope in it to record observations with the infrared spectrum (Yamada, Shirasaki, & Nishi, 2017).
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This allowed them to capture the different patterns of Milky Way as well as the movements of its countless planets. Initially, the makers covered its exterior with two GaAs solar cells, each with 15 watts of power. It’s safe to say that Nano-JASMINE is first-of-its-kind space asset ever launched by Japan. After the success of Hipparcos in 1989 and Gaia in 2013), this space asset got public and media eye in no time. It was specifically designed to determine the wavelength of light coming from different stars. It was also responsible for discovering water, soil, and oxygen on other planets where life was likely to be possible. Nano-JASMINE detected nearly three times of the total number of stars as Hipparcos. When combined, both Hipparcos and Nano-JASMINE determined the positions of planets and stars in the Milky Way and measured how far those planets were from their relevant stars. The idea was to find a planet as far from its star as earth is from the sun so that life could be discovered somewhere in distant skies. Nano-JASMINE was launched in November 2013, and it remained in the space till March 2014 (Yamada, Shirasaki, & Nishi, 2017).
Multi-Functional Transport Satellite
As the name indicates, Multi-Functional Transport Satellite consisted of different functions and possessed various, unique characteristics. It was not a single space asset, but a series of aviation and weather control satellites. All of them had equal weights, and the entire system was soon replaced by a more advanced space asset known as Himawari 8. Prior to that, Multi-Functional Transport Satellite was sent into space by JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency), the company that originally developed these tiny satellites for space projects. They were responsible for recording the temperature and evaluating the climate changes on different planets. For this purpose, Japan collaborated with Australia, and the two countries’ astronauts were sent into space as part of the project. They provided the world with clear images in different wavelength bands (Kawamura, Qin, Sakaida, & Setiawan, 2010).
Image from: http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/mtsat-1.htm
All of those pictures were made visible using infrared radiations. For example, water vapors were shown with blue color, and the existence of air was represented by light, white color. Infrared cameras were placed in Multi-Functional Transport Satellite in this regard. This group of space assets was planned to stay in the space for over 60 months. MTSAT-1 and 1R were two of its prominent members, and these two space assets were developed by Space Loral. Another space asset, known as MTSAT-2, was developed by none other than Mitsubishi. Unfortunately, MTSAT-1could not be launched on the said time, and this space asset was eventually destroyed. At that time, it was believed that GMS-5 would replace MTSAT-1. So this space asset was first brought to media and public attention in April 2003, leaving a good impression of Japan on the world. In order to fill the gap as soon as possible, Japanese space agencies collaborated with an American company that agreed to fund the GOES-9 project. They jointly changed its position from 152° to 155° East. Ground station for this space asset is present in Hitachiota, Japan (Kawamura, Qin, Sakaida, & Setiawan, 2010).
EarthCARE
EarthCARE is yet another wonderful and prominent space asset. This was a joint project of Japan and Europe, and the asset was launched as part of the Living Planet program. The goal was to observe and characterize aerosols and clouds, as well as well as measure the solar radiations and infrared radiation of earth from different distances. Back in 2008, EarthCARE’s design was presented by Astrium. They were also responsible for the integration of this space asset. Its construction was officially started in 2009, and its new version is due for 2020. EarthCARE is the abbreviation for Earth Clouds, Aerosols, and Radiation Explorer. Just like other space assets, Japan designed it with utmost attention and care. The aim was to understand how clouds are formed fully, where do they live, and how do they travel in the sky. Besides this, different aerosol and radioactive processes that impact earth’s atmosphere were aimed to be studied through this space asset (Horie, Ohno, & Takahashi, 2010).
Image from: /Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/The_Living_Planet_Programme/Earth_Explorers/EarthCARE/ESA_s_cloud_aerosol_and_radiation_mission
As of 2011, a total of $800 million were spent on this project thanks to national and international funds to make it possible. A large proportion of EarthCARE was manufactured in the United Kingdom, and its main design was presented by a Switzerland-based company RUAG Space. Amazingly, the government of Japan happily invested that much money on this project. This proves that Japan has always been serious when it comes to accomplishing high-profile space projects. It is believed that the new version of EarthCARE will be built in Bristol, but the funds will be provided by Japan itself. Four years ago, in 2014, JAXA and ESA arranged an International Science Workshop where the basic design and structure of EarthCARE were unveiled. In 2015, it was believed that this space asset would be launched in next few months; however, due to technical problems, it was delayed to mid of 2017 (Horie, Ohno, & Takahashi, 2010).
JCSAT-5A
JCSAT-5A, also known as N-STAR d and JCSAT-9, is yet another space asset ever launched by Japan. It was primarily sent into space for communication purposes. This geostationary satellite was operated and owned by SKY Perfect JSAT Group, while its designing and development were done by Lockheed Martin. It is believed that the approximate launch mass of JCSAT-5A was 4,101 kilograms, and this space asset lifespan was not more than 12 years. When sent into the air, Japan hoped that JCSAT-5A would bring back positive vibes and help the country communicate with aliens. Most of the space assets used for communication between so-called aliens and humans are purely based on A2100. Just like those space assets, JCSAT-5A had plenty of characteristics and unique features (Nagai, Kamiya, & Hayasaka, 1998).
Image from: http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/jcsat-13.htm
It had several solar panels, each of which was of 77 feet, and they were carefully deployed with its antenna for extended configurations. Prior to the launch of JCSAT-5A, Japan was in talks with the United States and other countries regarding its potential benefits and contributions to the field of astronomy. It is widely believed that those states did not show any interest in the JCSAT-5A project, so Japan had to carry on alone. In April 2006, a Zenit-3SL was launched that successfully orbited JCSAT-5A. After its separation from that launch vehicle, JCSAT-5A traveled into the sky with great speed and reached a 131°East orbital position within seconds. It was believed that this would spend several years in the space without any need of returning back to the Earth. However, due to technical problems, JCSAT-5A was to bring back to our planet. And once those issues were resolved, the space asset was resent to space and this time it was called N-STAR d. Japan was hoping to communicate with aliens through this space asset, but all in vain (Nagai, Kamiya, & Hayasaka, 1998).
N-STAR
Just like JCSAT-5A, N-STAR was a geostationary communication space asset ordered by JSAT Corporation and NTT DoCoMo. Once it was fully established and ready to be launched, N-STAR was entirely acquired JSAT. The design of this space asset was presented by Space Systems, and they designed it on a comprehensive SSL 1300 platform to ensure its strength and power. The launch weight of N-STAR was over 3,200 kilograms, and it was designed to spend up to ten years in the space. Furthermore, the payload of N-STAR consisted of six C bands, eleven Ka bands, eight Ku bands and one S-band. NTT DoCoMo built two satellite telephones and one data packet service in N-STAR. The aim was to ease...