You probably still remember from news coverage that the Space Shuttle was launched to make the third delivery of the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" in July 2009, completing the assembly of the first Japanese manned space facility "Kibo" thanks to the great success by Astronaut Wakata and Japanese "Kibo" Flight Control Team.
The ISS project, which began with a proposal by the United States in 1984, has been supported by 15 countries in total including Japan, the United States, Canada and 11 European countries, as well as Russia, which joined later. During its construction, the project overcame fatal accidents with the Space Shuttles "Challenger" and "Columbia." At last, the construction of the ISS is scheduled to be completed in 2010, paving the way for the full-scale operation and utilization of the ISS including the "Kibo."
At the beginning of the "Kibo's" development, there were not many engineers from JAXA or Japanese development companies who could speak English and these people couldn't initially understand the manned space terminology. I heard they had a very hard time. While working, I studied English and carried the ISS list of abbreviations in my hand for more than a year as I tried to remember them. Despite the language problems, Japan is capable of designing, manufacturing, testing/verifying and operating a large-scale, multi-functional manned space system that can meet strict safety requirements and joined advanced countries in the development of the manned space system. It is very important to compile in a document the technology gained from this project and utilize it in new projects. In addition, to utilize the technology in the next project to the utmost by reading between the lines, it is very important to utilize the knowledge and wisdom of the previous project team.
Japan took part in the historical first large-scale ISS project through developing the first manned space experiment facility "Kibo," acquiring many technologies and cultivating experienced engineers for manned space system development in the process. These manned space technologies and precious human resources have already been utilized in the development of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) and further utilization in the development of future manned space systems is also anticipated.
The ISS project, which began with a proposal by the United States in 1984, has been supported by 15 countries in total including Japan, the United States, Canada and 11 European countries, as well as Russia, which joined later. During its construction, the project overcame fatal accidents with the Space Shuttles "Challenger" and "Columbia." At last, the construction of the ISS is scheduled to be completed in 2010, paving the way for the full-scale operation and utilization of the ISS including the "Kibo."
At the beginning of the "Kibo's" development, there were not many engineers from JAXA or Japanese development companies who could speak English and these people couldn't initially understand the manned space terminology. I heard they had a very hard time. While working, I studied English and carried the ISS list of abbreviations in my hand for more than a year as I tried to remember them. Despite the language problems, Japan is capable of designing, manufacturing, testing/verifying and operating a large-scale, multi-functional manned space system that can meet strict safety requirements and joined advanced countries in the development of the manned space system. It is very important to compile in a document the technology gained from this project and utilize it in new projects. In addition, to utilize the technology in the next project to the utmost by reading between the lines, it is very important to utilize the knowledge and wisdom of the previous project team.
Japan took part in the historical first large-scale ISS project through developing the first manned space experiment facility "Kibo," acquiring many technologies and cultivating experienced engineers for manned space system development in the process. These manned space technologies and precious human resources have already been utilized in the development of the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) and further utilization in the development of future manned space systems is also anticipated.
(August 31, 2009 Updated.)
On July 19, 2009 (JST,) the construction of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo was completed.