New Space Encourages International Collaboration

Credit: KSCIA - Vaya Space

The New Commercial Space Economy is Encouraging International Collaboration and Inspiring the New Generation of Space Explorers

​It is an extraordinary and exciting time for the space sector. We are also in the midst of a transformative era of space exploration, marked by groundbreaking missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Both governmental and commercial interests are driving significant advancements in technology and our understanding of the solar system. These public and private space actors are revolutionizing the industry with cost-effective, reusable launch vehicles and ambitious missions, making space more accessible and accelerating humanity's journey beyond Earth.

Space exploration also encourages international cooperation and inspires future generations. There have never been so many space exploration missions venturing into our solar system, and to ensure the new generation can seize this giant opportunity, KSCIA International Space Academy, an American Space Educational Research Center based at the Space Life Science Laboratory located in Exploration Park, just outside the security perimeter of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, is dedicated to advancing space education. KSCIA is training this new generation of space enthusiasts through innovative programs and partnerships.

​Recently, KSCIA hosted a group of teachers and students from Brazil, Mexico, and the United States for a weeklong program where the participants had the opportunity to develop projects and learn from real space industry experts and engineers. 

In recent months, six missions have been launched to the Moon. India and Japan became the fourth and fifth nations, respectively, to achieve successful 'soft' lunar landings alongside a private mission.

A Japanese conglomerate has established a new subsidiary seeking to develop a module that could be installed on future commercial space stations.

The new venture, called Japan LEO Shachu, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. that was formally established on July 1, its chief executive, Yudai Yamamoto, said in a July 9 presentation at the Spacetide conference here.

The goal of the company, he said, is to “leverage Japan’s strengths in LEO” building upon past work by Mitsui, which included handling cubesat deployments from Japan’s Kibo module on the International Space Station. Mitsui also invested in commercial space station developer Axiom Space in 2021.

The concept that Japan LEO Shachu is pursuing is the “Japan Module,” a module based on technologies developed for the HTV and new HTV-X cargo spacecraft. The module would include a pressurized area for research, manufacturing and other applications, as well as an external platform for additional payloads. The module will also have its own system for high-bandwidth communications.

​The company’s plans will depend on its ability to work with American developers of commercial space stations. “We are open to collaborate with international partners, especially with the U.S. commercial space station companies,” he said. “Having a module that is complementary to them and how we can contribute to global commercial LEO systems is also important.”

The proposal for a Japanese module for a commercial space station comes as the Japanese space agency JAXA plans to solicit proposals for technologies that could be used on commercial stations, including the module itself as well as cargo spacecraft. That could provide mechanisms for the Japanese government and companies to participate as partners on commercial stations that will be developed by American companies through NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations effort.
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Among those American companies is Axiom Space. Speaking in a separate session at Spacetide July 9, Koichi Wakata, a former JAXA astronaut who joined Axiom earlier this year as its chief technology officer for the Asia-Pacific region, said he would be interested in incorporating a Japanese module of some kind to Axiom’s future station. “I would like to be a liaison,” he said in interpreted remarks in the Japanese-language session.

Sources for this article:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/07/sustainable-space-exploration-path-forward/
https://spacenews.com/japanese-venture-seeks-to-develop-commercial-space-station-module/
https://www.kscia.com/international-journey.html
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