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| Thursday / 2 March 2006 | ||
Japan Launch
Success Spurs Government to Evaluate National Space Policy. Japan's
Liberal Democratic Party is reviewing
space development policy following three successful launches
in the last month. The committee may be creating a state
ministry for space development and a strategic council to
overcome the lack of bureaucratic cooperation that has bogged
down Japan's space industry. Business leaders have expressed
concern over falling sales figures in the space equipment
industry, as well as falling employment figures and loss
of technological expertise. Public concern has been expressed
over a lack of vision for space development. An H 2A launch
failure in 2003 paralyzed the industry until launches were
resumed in February 2005. In
the last month, the Advanced Land Observing Satellite
(Daichi) and the Multifunctional Transport Satellite 2 were
each placed into orbit by H 2A launch vehicles, and an M
5 carried ASTRO-F, an infrared astronomical observation
satellite, into orbit as well. The three successful launches
bring renewed vitality to a space industry demoralized
by budget cuts and an inability to compete in the international
market. With only one failure out of nine H 2A launches,
an additional ten H 2A launches would drive the success
rate high enough for Japan to become a serious player in
the launch market. Also, a
consortium led by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation earned
Japan's first satellite contract and secured a contract
to produce a similar model for a private company, opening
the door to the lucrative satellite market.
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