Updates JAXA's Independent Manned Spaceflight

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Spaceflight Now: Independent human spaceflight sought by Japan:

The Japanese space agency is pushing for a domestic human spaceflight capability, proposing modifications to the country's International Space Station cargo delivery system to carry astronauts into orbit by 2025.

If approved by the Japanese government, the craft's development would follow a crawl-walk-run approach. Japan has already demonstrated its H-2 Transfer Vehicle can haul cargo and experiments to the space station, and next up could be developing a return capsule to bring equipment from the outpost back to Earth.

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"If we can make the HTV retrievable, then we expect that we will be able to turn it into a manned spacecraft, too," Tachikawa said in an interview posted on JAXA's website. "However, the decision on whether or not Japan goes ahead with this rests with the Japanese government. So before we move in that direction, the government has to give us the go-ahead."

Japan is targeting fiscal year 2017, which ends in March 2018 in Japan, for the first flight of the HTV-R craft, which will bring back up to 3,500 pounds of cargo in a pressurized capsule on each mission.

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If Japan proceeds with a crewed spaceship, engineers would need to human-rate the country's H-2B rocket or develop a new launcher. Officials are already investigating safety upgrades to the H-2B's hydrogen-fueled LE-7A engine, and a manned rocket will require an escape system yet to be developed.

"Personally, I think that if we continue to cooperate with the international community in space, our partners will ask Japan, a country with a highly developed space program, to help build an infrastructure for manned space transport," Tachikawa said. "This is another reason why I believe that we should develop a made-in-Japan manned spacecraft.

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Parabolic Arc: JAXA Pushes for Human Spaceflight Program:

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If JAXA puts the project out to competitive bidding, Boeing Japan might end up making a proposal based on the CST-100 vehicle. The US subsidiary of Excalibur Almaz has put in a similar proposal to NASA based on old Soviet space technology it owns.

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[Pipcard]

It'll be interesting to see how it evolves from the HTV.

There was another concept of a manned vessel launched by the H-IIB:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=19061.0

 

[fsci123]

Yay!!! Its alyways good to see friendly faces in space... We support you japan!

 

[GoForPDI]

It'll be interesting to see how it evolves from the HTV.

There was another concept of a manned vessel launched by the H-IIB:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=19061.0

Ah, I forgot about this particular concept. The capsule would launch atop the orbital module, to make launch abort easier, then when in orbit, the capsule would do a CSM/LEM docking type maneuver, except with a guiding rail.

 

[ElGuapoGuano]

I wish them luck, but I'm not holding my breath. I really thought at one time that by the mid 90's to 2000 Japan would had already built their own manned space program. Too bad they lost "Hope"...
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/hope.htm

 

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SPACE.com: Japan Wants Space Plane or Capsule by 2022:

Japan hopes to be launching astronauts aboard a manned capsule or space plane by 2022, and the nation is also eyeing point-to-point suborbital transportation over the longer haul.

The capsule or mini-shuttle — which may resemble Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser space plane — would each accommodate a crew of three and carry up to 880 pounds (400 kilograms) of cargo, officials with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said this month.

A diagram of a crew capsule being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
CREDIT: Kuniaki Shiraki/JAXA

Diagram of the launch configuration of Japan's proposed HTV-R recoverable cargo capsule.
CREDIT: Kuniaki Shiraki/JAXA​

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[Pipcard]

I saw this article from Spaceflight Now that talks about a 2-stage, all-liquid H-X launcher (but it's from 2010).

Kinda reminds me of the Jarvis/Antares.

 

[Pipcard]

An excerpt from a JAXA interview with Yoshitoh Asari that I found interesting:

"What are your hopes for JAXA?"

"I hope that JAXA will put humans in space soon. The time when Europeans explored overseas lands, between the mid-15th and mid-17th century, is called the Age of Discovery. Japan hasn't had such an era. Just like Europeans explored the oceans, I want Japan to attempt to explore space. The Japanese are an ideal race for a confined spacecraft (laugh). Because we are used to small rooms with low ceilings, I don't think that our astronauts will be uncomfortable being in a confined spacecraft for a long time. They may even feel at ease in such a space. Besides, doesn't it upset you that Japan hasn't been able to send people to the International Space Station on its own spacecraft?"

"It's because the country has the technology but cannot afford the cost of development."

"I don't think so. After all, the biggest problem is that in Japan, when someone dies, people end up focusing on who to blame. When there's an accident, the investigation mainly tries to find out whose fault it was. As a result, people get intimidated before making a big leap. In the United States, on the other hand, when an accident happens, they immediately set about finding the cause. They think pragmatically – that if they can solve the problem, they can succeed the next time. So after an accident, instead of questioning everyone's actions, they allow people to speak openly, and they move forward as they clear the problem. Whereas in Japan, people clam up because they are afraid of being held responsible. So people tend to avoid trying anything that could result in an accident, and hesitate to be adventurous. The problem is, as long as you're afraid of a possible accident, you can never move forward."

So is it really more about societal mindsets than economic/budgetary issues?

And that Dream Chaser-like "mini-shuttle" might look like this. But I'm guessing that JAXA (if they actually go ahead with developing their own manned spacecraft) will go with the option with the least R&D costs.