Japanese astronaut Mr. Takao Doi, together with six other crew members, was launched into space Tuesday aboard NASA's space shuttle Endeavour from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This is the 53-year-old astronaut's second space mission, the first being in November-December 1997. We wish him success.
The shuttle crew will deliver a stowage module for Japan's space laboratory Kibo (Hope) and a new robotic arm developed by Canada to the International Space Station. Kibo is Japan's first manned space facility in which up to four astronauts will perform experiments over a long period of time. Mr. Doi will assemble the stowage module, Kibo's first component, and attach it to the ISS. Kibo will be the biggest facility for experiments in the ISS. It will be composed of the stowage module, a large bus-size module for indoor experiments and an exposed facility for experiments outside the ISS.
The big question is whether Japan's investment in the ISS project is worthwhile. Japan started to develop the Kibo laboratory some 20 years ago and spent some ¥680 billion through March 2007 on the Kibo project. Japan's total investment in the ISS project is expected to eventually reach ¥1 trillion. The launch of the Kibo laboratory into outer space is about 10 years behind schedule, mainly because of space shuttle-related accidents.
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