BIS WEST MIDLANDS: ‘Japan in Space: Past, Present and Future’
Saturday 20 January 2024 at 1400 – 15:15 GMT
VENUE: Online on Zoom (BIS West Midlands)
Brian Harvey tells the fascinating story of Japan’s achievements in space and its hopes for the future. Please register HERE or via the West Midlands Facebook page.
Talk Overview
Just over 50 years ago, Japan became the fourth country to launch its own satellite, Ohsumi, in 1970, following the Soviet Union, United States and France. It was always expected that Japan would be the leading Asian nation in spaceflight, but instead China eclipsed all its rivals. So, what happened? To mark his new book Japan in space – past, present and future (Praxis-Springer, 2024), Brian Harvey tells the story of Japan’s space achievements, such as its two extraordinary asteroid probes, Hayabusa 1 and 2; its module on the International Space Station, Kibo; and how its high-tech satellites spearheaded Japan’s technological modernization. There are also the heart breaking failures, like the H3 rocket and the Hakuto lunar lander in 2023. Then there is the political dimension, with the Japanese space programme steering a pathway between independence from and subordination to the United States, which has led to its quiet, unpublicised re-orientation around security concerns in the past twenty years. This presentation will tell the story of Japan in space, set in an Asian and global context, its hopes for the future and the key scientific, engineering and political personalities involved.
Speaker Bio
Brian Harvey FBIS is a writer and broadcaster on spaceflight. His most recent books are China in space – the great leap (Praxis-Springer, 2019), also published in Chinese; (2022); European-Russian cooperation in space – from de Gaulle to ExoMars (Praxis-Springer, 2021), Atlas of rocket launch sites (with Gurbir Singh; DOM, Berlin, 2022). Forthcoming: Space alliances – global leaders, friends and enemies (Praxis-Springer, 2028).
Meeting Timetable
13:55 – The meeting is available to join
14:00 – Welcome
14:05 – Japan in space by Brian Harvey
14:35 ish – Questions and Answers (we enable everyone’s microphone to allow an interactive Q&A session)
Joining Instructions
1. Register for the Talk – Click HERE to Register
2. Before the event, we will send you an email with the joining link for the meeting.
3. On the day, click meeting link (and follow the on-screen instructions to install Zoom if prompted)
Please Note.
The Conference Call and Q&A sessions will be recorded (which may capture your name, picture, voice or video) and made available via the West Midlands Facebook group and possibly via the BIS HQ website. You consent to this by registering for the Conference Call/Q&A sessions.
