Aeronautics, Space and Defence

March 2006

Space Agency Conducts Flight Test Of Scramjet Component
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced Thursday that it had successfully conducted a flight experiment relating to the development of a scramjet engine, a type of next-generation rocket engine that utilizes oxygen from the air to burn its fuel. The test was conducted at 11:40 a.m. JST Thursday at the Woomera rocket range in Australia. The combustion chamber of the scramjet engine was launched aboard a rocket, and a burn test of the hydrogen gas fuel was conducted after the rocket had reached an altitude of about 320km and then fallen back to about 30km. Sensors on the combustion chamber measured such parameters as pressure and temperature and radioed the data back. The purpose of the flight test was to evaluate the performance of the newly redesigned combustion chamber, which has been structurally modified for better mixing of oxygen and hydrogen to boost fuel combustion. The results should be known after several weeks of data analysis. (The Nikkei Business Daily, March 31, 2006)

Govt, Industry Nix Plans For Joint GPS Satellite Ops
The government and private-sector firms are scrapping plans to jointly develop satellites for a Japanese version of the GPS (Global Positioning System), The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned Friday. Industry participants including Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Itochu Corp. determined that demand for GPS services was not likely to be sufficient to offset operating costs. The project called for developing and launching three quasi-zenithal satellites. The government now plans to sharply scale back the initiative, preparing one satellite for launch in 2009. Depending on its performance, the government will decide whether to put the other two into orbit. All three would be necessary for providing GPS services. In cooperation with the private-sector partners, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and other government entities were to establish in June a company to oversee satellite development and operation. These plans are expected to be canceled. The projected start of GPS services was initially targetted for around 2011. Of the projected 170 billion yen cost, the government was to shoulder 90 billion yen, with the private sector supplying 80 billion yen. The satellites initially were to include communications, broadcasting and GPS functions. But with the spread of advanced cellular phones, their purpose was narrowed to GPS services. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, March 18, 2006)