[Interview+] How Japan Built Its Crazy Space Agency
Japan’s space agency often flies under the radar, despite pursuing missions many larger agencies haven’t attempted. Like returning samples from Phobos or deploying a Toyota-built lunar rover. In this interview, we trace JAXA’s origins and the decisions that defined it.
Watch the video here (with no ads) or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_u9ZJBLCDBQ
🟣 Guest: Dr. Subodhana Wijeyeratne https://subowijeyeratne.com/
📚 The Islands and the Stars: A History of Japan's Space Programs https://bdo.wfu.mybluehost.me/the-islands-the-stars/
00:00 Intro
02:01 Researching JAXA
06:48 Star of Japan's space journey
16:05 Japan's first liquid fuel rocket
24:14 Japan's relationships with NASA and others
31:23 Lesser known projects
36:53 Dependency on the US
42:00 Excitement for the Future
44:41 Current obsessions
50:17 Final thoughts
Comments (6)
Thank you
Another super interesting guest, thanks Fraser.
Boy do I wish I had a Professor like him when I was in college! His enthusiasm and energy is remarkable.
Great interview! 🫡🫡🫡
One thing he said that I have an issue with (and maybe he's correct for the 50s, but not anytime after the 70s) is about solid fuel and missiles. Solid fuel is actually preferred for ICBMs, because it's storable and makes missiles available for immediate launch , unlike liquid fuels which tend to be either cryogenic or corrosive and makes missiles difficult to keep maintained in a fueled and launch-ready state.
True today, but earlier the first missiles were liquid fueled; for example the US Redstone, with nuclear warhead, used alcohol and liquid oxygen, it was descendent of the V2.