TOKYO – Interest in commercial aerospace is growing among amateurs in Japan, with enthusiasts collecting rockets and satellites with trial and error. As the space industry grows around the world, amateur builders and surgeons, including office workers and students, are challenging the notion that space is outside the same range of professionals.
“Let’s take it away and replace the other part,” said a voice at a small workshop in Edogawa Ward in Tokyo, spread out on a board with several parts. a satellite, with one side measuring about 10 cm, the person proposing to replace the part works away in a sweat suit.
The people gathered at the workshop are members of Ryman Sat Spaces, a group made up of people with an interest in aerospace, including office staff and students. On weekends they come together to build satellites and rockets. The group has around 790 members in total.
Most have no formal experience in the space industry. Those with training in technology – systems engineers and the like – make up about 70% of the membership, while the rest have a non-technological background. They work in teams dedicated to specific tasks, including satellite and rocket development, public relations and designing innovative products to advance the organization.
Ryman Sat Spaces raises money mainly from donations, innovation and crowdfunding. Members take turns paying for components out of their own pockets and bringing their own tools, such as soldering irons, to help with projects. Tiny satellites can cost anywhere from 2 million yen to 3 million yen $ 19,000 to $ 28,000) apiece to put together.
The group grew out of a sharp conversation in 2014 at a bar in Tokyo among three office workers, including the group’s future director Kazutaka Otani. Speaking of their dreams, someone suggested, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could make a commercial space ourselves.”
Ryman Sat Spaces’ “selfie satellite” is designed to take pictures of itself with the Earth in the background. (Image courtesy of Ryman Sat)
They added two more to their club, creating what became known as Ryman Sat Spaces. They then put up a display at a manufacturing trade fair where they invited others to join the group, handing out leaflets that read: “Join us to make your own satellites!”
Since then, Ryman Sat Spaces has grown to around 100 members each year, people with different roles and ways of thinking. They went up on aerospace using research papers published online and books on how to make satellites.
After much trial and error, the group established a relationship with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). In 2018, Ryman Sat Spaces held its first test release.
The group is now putting the final touches on “satellite selfie” ahead of a launch scheduled for Sunday. The tiny satellite has a camera attached to an extendable arm that takes pictures of itself with the Earth in the background.
The satellite will be taken into orbit on a rocket that will deliver goods to the International Space Station. After the delivery vehicle arrives at the space station, astronauts will move the satellite to Kibo, the test model of the station built by Japan. Within a few months, the selfie satellite will be released into space.
Ryman Sat Spaces participated in the JAXA program to encourage the private sector to take advantage of the International Space Station. Its satellite will contribute to the development of technology designed to study satellite hardware while in flight.
With the selfie satellite project underway, Ryman Sat Spaces is working on his next unit. Finally it aims to launch one satellite per year.
“Place development is not just for people with impressive backgrounds,” Otani says. Armed with growing confidence in their technical skills, some have decided to start a business. An aerospace launch will be launched by the end of February at the earliest.
An artist show features a Ryman Sat Spaces selfie satellite in orbit. (Image courtesy of Ryman Sat)
Another private sector organization is working on a commercial space based in Osaka. The motto of the “Dream Satellite Project,” managed by Fchuastical AeroSpace Promotion Incorporated Association Muchu, is that anyone can own a satellite. The project offers 1,000 investors who will invest 10,000 yen of shared ownership on their satellite.
“The industry will not develop unless the place becomes familiar to the general public,” said project director Hideaki Kikuchi.
Kikuchi has a good history of space projects, helping to develop the power unit for the Hodoyoshi satellite built by the University of Tokyo. At the time, Kikuchi says, people were surprised when he told them he was involved in making satellites.
He began questioning the notion that “JAXA was left with only space development,” which allowed him to embark on the dream satellite project, which is currently funded by about 400 owners. Several members, including university professors, come together to work on the satellite on weekends. They are “aiming to launch by the end of 2022,” Kikuchi said.
Worldwide, space development is shifting from the public to the private sector. SpaceX, led by American entrepreneur Elon Musk, has sent astronauts into space using the rocket itself. In Japan, there are about 50 known place starters.
Morgan Stanley predicts that the global market for commercial space will exceed $ 1 trillion by the 2040s, about three times the size of 2020. Grass actions that help lower entry barriers will help for developers that growth.