When future historians document the story of Japanese space exploration, 2009 will likely figure as the year when the nation put two high-profile rocket launch failures, in 1999 and 2003, firmly behind it and, quite literally, took off.
In June, the nation¡¯s first blueprint for space development, the ¡°Basic Plan for Space,¡± was published. A month later, Koichi Wakata completed the longest stay of any Japanese in space ¡ª 4 1/2 months at the International Space Station (ISS). Before returning to Earth, the astronaut helped put the finishing touches to Japan¡¯s Kibo laboratory, a bus-size research module that is now the largest component of the ISS. And just three weeks ago came yet another enhancement of Japan¡¯s ISS presence, when the nation¡¯s HTV unmanned cargo vehicle launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture successfully docked with the station ¡ª ushering in Japan¡¯s ability to service the ISS independently.
Watching all of this from his base at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo¡¯s bayside Odaiba district was Mamoru Mohri, who 17 years ago became the nation¡¯s first professional astronaut.
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