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The ESA taking a cue from NASA's commercial crew program has decided to follow the commercial space approach to developing the new Ariane 6.
The Japanese space agency should also take this approach.
Bob Clark
What manned capacity does Ariane 6 have? I never heard about those European Rockets being man-rated.
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Ariane 5 was originally supposed to lift a manned space capsule to ISS. But the Europeans never did finish the spacecraft. The closest they got was ATV. But again, Ariane 4 was the satellite launcher, Ariane 5 was designed to launch European astronauts to ISS. When the spacecraft was cancelled, they had to do something with the new big rocket. They found Ariane 5 could launch several satellites at once. And doing so cost less per satellite. So Ariane 5 was re-purposed.
I checked Encyclopedia Astronautica for Ariane 6. The only entry I found is this: FLTP
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I believe the Japanese space program has changed greatly since the thread first started I might make a new one, they have some failures and then followed by a number of successful missions
The Private Sector and Space Tourism is opening up in Japan
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to travel to ISS in December
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/ … -december/
Yusaku Maezawa 前澤 友作 and his assistant, Yozo Hirano, will travel aboard a Russian Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft
Previous ideas
Fuji (ふじ) was a crewed spacecraft of the space capsule kind, proposed by Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) Advanced mission Research center in December 2001.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji_(spacecraft)
The Fuji design was ultimately not adopted.
'In Japan, human spaceflight prior to 2001 had depended on the US Space Shuttle program, and independent development of spacecraft was not adopted as a short to mid-term goal. Instead, NASDA chose to recommend use of Reusable launch systems with wings such as the US Space Shuttle and HOPE.
However, after the Japanese government reorganized their space exploration efforts under the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Fuji was proposed as a candidate for space missions. The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003 also raised questions about the safety of reusable systems, and JAXA felt that the Fuji design, relying on a disposable capsule, would be possible to develop in relatively short span of eight years. '
HOPE was a Japanese experimental spaceplane project designed by a partnership between NASDA and NAL (both now part of JAXA), started in the 1980s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOPE-X
The project was eventually cancelled in 2003, by which point test flights of a sub-scale testbed had flown successfully.
'In 1998, the H-2 suffered from a string of failures. A re-evaluation of the entire space program followed, and budget constraints later forced a reduction in overall funding by US$690 million to US$4.22 billion for the five-year spending period between 1998 and 2002. This would force a delay in the timeline for the HOPE-X, with its first flight in 2003.
As the 2003 deadline approached a number of debates broke out about the launcher profile, with many arguing that the H-2 should be replaced with a jet-powered cargo aircraft for an air-start. The first flight was pushed back further to 2004. Before this milestone was reached a major re-organization of NASDA took place in order to address its obvious overcommitment in light of Japan's economic stagnation, especially now that there were demands for a crash program to develop spy satellites in order to track North Korean nuclear efforts. JAXA was formed, and HOPE was cancelled during this process. '
Japan continues to look at un-manned missions to Mars
Not sure about astronauts it seems their Rocket never got rated for manned missions
They do however use the ISS with NASA and Russia and they purchase from the US Private Sector.
Also Japan plans some kind of manned Lunar Car, a lot of motor companies around the world would like their brand on the side of a car that NASA Astronauts are driving
https://news.yahoo.com/gms-newest-vehic … 47465.html
GM's newest vehicle: Off-road, self-driving rover for moon
Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2021-05-30 11:03:49)
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Just one rich Japanese does not make a space program and while shuttle pushed the need for cargo from partners its now changed as the COTS vehicles have come online for the Cygnus and for Dragon Truck but that could all change once a starship is flying that could potentially be a huge game changer.
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They will buy the rocket from somebody else? Maybe NASA, Russia or the US private sector???
The Japanese will use cheque book diplomacy to ask NASA to transform any Moonbase into a new ISS international style station?
Japan cash, yen, euro, dollars and the cheque book diplomats
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/ … o-the-moon
No man rated rocket
but they have the skills to build some very interesting stuff
JAXA and Toyota Announce “LUNAR CRUISER” As Nickname for Manned Pressurized Rover
https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2020/08/20200828-1_e.html
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) already launched "KAGUYA (SELENE)" by the H-IIA L from Tanegashima Space Center
https://youtu.be/9-bSG1q5MJg
They have cargo like the Progress and you can live inside it like the European ATV on the ISS, Japan can try a HTV：HTV-X redesign
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2016/07/20160714_htv-x_j.html
https://twitter.com/HTVX_JAXA/status/13 … 0411462661
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_f9uI-rDBY
Japan space info
https://spacebestnews.blogspot.com/2020 … st_19.html
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