Japan's Space Experiment Craft: ISS Kibo

I love space exploration.

Actually, if you were to see my home, you would know I hate space and prefer organized clutter filled with art (paintings, ukiyo-e and my photographs), book cases and books, LEGO dioramas, and dog and cat hair (not preferred, but it's there again immediately after vacuuming!).

But I have had an affinity for space and all it represents for mankind since I watched Apollo 11 land on the moon back in 1969.

I watched every Apollo mission after that, saw the Apollo-Soyuz mission (built a Revell model of it, too), watched Viking take off, saw the first space shuttle mission, watched in horror while watching Challenger explode after lift-off (I watched it live at a friend's dorm at York University), and years later watched Columbia burn up in re-entry.

I have spent hours watching with the unaided eye a satellite triangulate in the sky. I have watched meteor showers, so-called shooting stars, watched the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope (and cringed when it was discovered to initially be blurry!), dreamed of flying in space, daring to go where no man has gone before...

I have studied astronomy in university and can even calculate the height of mountains on the moon by studying the length of shadow of it in a photograph. As a 14-year-old watching 2001: Space Odyssey for the first time, I guessed that the monolith was actually a fuel cell to one day ignite the brown-dwarf star Jupiter turning it into a sun, making out solar system a more common binary star system, rather than the strangely rare single star system. The movie 2010, proved me correct.

And yet... I have never looked through a telescope in my life. Not even the stars will wait forever, I guess.

So... you can tell I really enjoy my space science, and have been completely bummed out that man has not flown to the moon or beyond since landing for the last time on the moon's surface with Apollo 17 back in 1972, and even more pissed off that NASA has been forced to retire the space shuttle missions without an actual replacement plan!

It's why I am glad to hear about such things as the International Space Station (ISS), and some of the cool stuff the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) is doing.

The ISS - International Space Station

It's these two entities that give me hope. And... I want you to know that I wrote that last sentence before I knew what 'kibo' meant in English. Read on...

Today, let's look the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), which is more affectionately known as Kibo (きぼう), which translates into 'Hope' in English.

Kibo is a Japanese science module for the International Space Station (ISS) that was developed by JAXA. It is the largest single ISS module and is situated in Earth's orbit.

Kibo was launched into space via three space shuttle missions, STS-123, STS-124and STS-127,  though it was operational after the first two launches of components.

Kibo consists of six components: the Pressurized Module (PM); Exposed Facility (EF); Experiment Logistics Module-Pressurized Section (ELM-PS); Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section (ELM-ES); Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS), and; the Inter-orbit Communication System (ICS).

The Pressurized Module (PM) is cylindrical in shape, and is where experiments utilizing the microgravity environment will be conducted. Of the 23 international Standard Payload Racks, 10 are racks are for science experiment. The Exposed Facility, Experiment Logistics Module and the Remote manipulator are all connected to the PM.

Affectionately known as the Terrace, the Exposed Facility (EF) is located outside the ISS, outside of the port cone of the PM, and is accessible through the PM airlock. Exposed to outer space at all times, the EF and the truss facilities, are the only locations where the space environment can directly be utilized by the crew. The EF houses experiments that need to be exposed to outer space. 

The Experiment Logistics Module (ELM) consists of two sections:

• The Japanese Experiment Logistics Module, Pressurized Section (ELM-PS) –- also called the JLP –- is a pressurized addition to the PM. The module is a storage facility that provides storage space for experiment payloads, samples and spare items;
• The unpressurized (external) section (ELM-ES) will serve the EF. It is intended as a storage and transportation module.

The Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) is a robotic arm to support experiments conducted on the Exposed Facility. The main arm handles large items, while a smaller arm (the 'Small Fine Arm') can be attached to the main arm for more delicate work. The main arm is equipped with a TV camera allowing astronauts to monitor the operation from inside the pressurized module.

Specifications: 

Pressurized Module
Length: 11.19 m (36.7 ft)
Diameter: 4.39 m (14.4 ft)
Mass: 14,800 kg (32,600 lb) 

Experiment Logistics Module
Length: 4.21 m (13.8 ft)
Diameter: 4.39 m (14.4 ft)
Mass: 8,386 kg (18,488 lb)

Anyhow... Kibo is doing experiments up in space. I know, many of my good friends think it is a waste of taxpayers money, and I really can't say I blame them... but as I said... it gives me hope for the future.

Some of the planned experiments for Kibo include:
 - MAXI X-ray astronomy from 0.5 to 30 keV.
 ^- SMILES observes and monitors very weak sub-millimeter wave emission lines of trace gas molecules in the stratosphere.
 - SEDA-AP (Space Environment Data Acquisition equipment-Attached Payload) measures neutrons, plasma, heavy ions, and high-energy light particles in ISS orbit. 
 - HREP (Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) & Remote Atmospheric & Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) Experimental Payload)

Here's what JAXA has to say about Kibo:
 JAXA (has contacted) universities and other academic institutions to offer experiment themes for utilizing the Kibo, and conducts collaborative research with private companies. We also began a system of Kibo usage through which the private sector can use the Kibo with some fees.
We hope that space experiments and application will become more familiar to our lives through the Kibo.

What does this mean for us here on Earth? I have no bloody idea. And yet, I blindly hope it means something - something substantial that will help make a difference for us all. Really.

But... I really like that we continue to be curious about space. We are a part of it... why should we not know more about it? It has always helped me rediscover hope whenever I hear about a new mission.

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph

Japanese Astronaut Flying In Russian Spacecraft

Here's some cool news for fans of Japan's space exploration.

The launch date for Japanese astronaut Hoshide Akihiko (surname first, but you can call him Aki) aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for eventual destination aboard the ISS (International Space Station) has been set for July 15, 2012.

The spacecraft - dubbed 31S/TMA-05M, will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Astronaut Hoshide will stay at the ISS as part of the space program designated as an Expedition 32/33 crew member for about four months to perform scientific experiments using the space environment, ISS system operation, and robotics operation. 

Born in December 28, 1968 in the Setagaya district of Tokyo, he apparently grew up in New Jersey, USA - he has already flown one mission to the ISS aboard STS-124 as the payload commander and has already enjoyed some 13 days, 18 hours, 13 minutes and seven seconds in space. For your information, STS stands for the Space Transportation System, also known as the space shuttle.

According to his biography on the NASA website, Hoshide enjoys flying, rugby football, swimming, snow skiing, and traveling - the latter is something he will be doing a hell of a lot of come this summer

Hoshide graduated from the United World College of South-East Asia, Singapore, in 1987; received a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Keio University in 1992, and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering in 1997.

As for his space career, he joined the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) in 1992, and for two years worked as a member of its Nagoya Office involved in the development of the H-II launch vehicle.

Between 1994 to 1999, he worked as an astronaut support engineer for the NASDA Astronaut Office, supporting the development of the astronaut training program and the evaluation of crew interface designs. He also supported astronaut Koichi Wakata during his training and mission on STS-72.

In February 1999, Hoshide was selected by NASDA - now known as JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) as one of three Japanese astronaut candidates for the International Space Station.

He began participating in the ISS Astronaut Basic Training program in April 1999 and was certified as an astronaut in January 2001. He then took ISS Advanced Training, as was supporting the development of the hardware and operation of the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” and the H-IIA Transfer Vehicle (HTV).

In May 2004, he completed Soyuz-TMA Flight Engineer-1 training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC), Star City, Russia.

He then went to work at  the Johnson Space Center in May 2004, and in February of 2006, he completed Astronaut Candidate Training that included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training.

Completion of this initial training qualified him for various technical assignments within the Astronaut Office, and he has worked as a capsule communicator CAPCOM in Mission Control Center for the ISS and the Space Shuttle, as well as supported technical coordination for Kibo and HTV. He completed his first space flight on STS-124 in 2008

Aboard the STS-124 Discovery (May 31 to June 14, 2008) - the 123rd Space Shuttle flight, and the 26th Shuttle flight to the International Space Station, the STS-124 docked with the ISS on June 2, 2008 to deliver the Japanese Experiment Module-Pressurized Module (JEM-PM) and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System.

The shuttle crew also delivered the 37-foot (11-meter) Kibo lab (more on this tomorrow!), relocated its rooftop storage room, performed three spacewalks required to maintain the station and primed the new Japanese module and its robotic arm for work during nine docked days at the orbiting laboratory.

Hoshide worked primarily on the outfitting, activation, and reconfiguration of the Kibo module, as well as deploying the Kibo robotic arm from its launch configuration and conducting initial checkout.

He also operated the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to install the Kibo Module to the ISS. The STS-124 mission was completed in 218 orbits, traveling 5,735.643 miles in 13 days, 18 hours, 13 minutes and seven seconds.

Hoshide is assigned and in training as one of the long duration crew member for Expedition 32/33.

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph

Space: The Final Frontier For Music?

I'm unsure why the heck it took nearly two months for me to hear this, but apparently the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has experimented with musical instruments in space. I'm just not sure why.

I will assume it was done inside a spacecraft as, in space, there is no sound... or as we all learned from the movie Alien: In space, no one can hear you scream - Star Trek and Star Wars be damned.

On board the Japan's experimental module, Kibo, on February 10, 2012, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) astronaut Daniel Burbank played two specially designed space instrument while in orbit: an Ellipsoid Bell and Fractal Bell.

The instruments are similar to maracas and handbells (see image above), and the whole experiment was done to create a new sound and style of playing while in microgravity.

Burbank's concert, which was recorded for visual posterity on an HD camcorder, occurred between 8:15PM and 9:55PM.

There is no word if Burbank is a new rock star meteoring to fame above the stratosphere, but we can be sure he didn't play Space Truckin' by Deep Purple.   

Should you be wondering, just what the heck is this thing the astronaut was playing an instrument or two in, it is the Kibo, and it is a Japanese Experiment Module.

The module is Japan's first human space facility and enhances the unique research capabilities of the International Space Station.

So what was the purpose of all of this? God help me, but the reasoning is pretty strong-weak-medium-weak... which is how you play four quarter notes in 4/4 time - which is the basis for standard rock and roll. Hey... I used to teach piano and clarinet, and add that to my love of rock and roll, I know my music. Hell, my uncle Harold Joseph was the conductor of the New Delhi Symphony. That's a lot of weak - like JAXA's reason for this, which I still haven't explained.

To be honest, it's stuff like this that actually makes people question the validity of spending money for space exploration and travel.  

Okay... here's the reason: through this experiment, creations of new sounds and playing style resulting from a unique physical phenomenon in microgravity is expected, which might be possible to develop into a creation of new musical instruments for space use. Further, it could lead to some new leisure and communication tools in space.

Really. That was it. I love space exploration, as I have done a number of blog entries on the topic, but geez louise... this sounds like a waste of time and effort.

Yes, I know it was done to somehow enhance the unique research capabilities of the Internatinal Space Station - but come on. 

Experimentation like this is great once we do have leisure time in space and where musical instruments are a necessity... but it's not that important where we sit in this day and age. I think this experiment is jumping the gun a hell of a lot.

Yes, we now have two new musical instruments, but none that will give the unique space sound down on Earth.

Previously, space missions gave us Tang crystallized orange juice and Gortex for winter wear.

Also:

• we got development of kidney dialysis machines; 
• development of a medical CAT scanner which searches the human body for tumors or other abnormalities; 
• development of a physical therapy and athletic development machine used by football teams, sports clinics and medical rehabilitation centers; 
• insulation barriers made of aluminum foil laid over a core of propylene or mylar, which protected astronauts and their spacecraft's delicate instruments from radiation and is used to protect cars and trucks and dampen engine and exhaust noise.

And there's more:

• water purification technology used on the Apollo spacecraft is now employed in several spinoff applications to kill bacteria, viruses and algae in community water supply systems and cooling towers. Filters mounted on faucets can reduce lead in water supplies; 
• process for bonding dry lubricant to space metals led to the development of surface enhancement coatings, which are used in applications from pizza making to laser manufacture. Each coating is designed to protect specific metal group or group of metals to solve problems encountered under operating conditions;  
• Digital signal-processing techniques, originally developed to enhance pictures of the Moon for the Apollo Program, are an indispensable part of Computer-Aided Tomography (CAT) scan & Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologies used today worldwide.

Still more:

• Vacuum metallizing techniques led to an extensive line of commercial products, from insulated outer garments to packaging for foods and from reflective blankets to photographic reflectors; 
• cordless power tools and appliances are one of the most successful commercial spin-offs of space-based technology; 
• cool suits, which kept Apollo astronauts comfortable during moon walks, are today worn by race car drivers, hazardous area workers and people with specific health problems; 
• a hollow retro-reflector - a mirror-like instrument that reflects light and other radiation back to the source, is used as a sensor to detect the presence of hazardous gases in oil development, chemical plants, waste storage sites and locations where gases could be released into the environment.

Musical instruments in space? Maybe it will one day prove to aid in astronauts remaining sane over long flights so they don't kill each other in space. "Music hath charms to soothe a savage beast." (William Congreve from the 1697 play The Mourning Bride) . But... I doubt it.

What is it going to do for us mere mortals down on Earth? Boo to JAXA for this experiment.

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph