Shuttle Retirement — The Results Connect to Next Universe

With a dazzling flash, its huge body slowly rises higher and, in the blink of an eye, climbs out of the Florida sky.

A final look at this spectacle.

We close the curtain on the American space shuttle program with yesterday’s launch of the Atlantis, ending 30 years of history since the first flight in 1981.

As the first reusable spacecraft, the goal of the shuttle was to reduce the costs of a weekly trip to space. Two accidents occurred and safety became a question. Despite their original intentions, due to regular technical repairs and economic limitations, round trips were limited to only a few times per year.

For America, the flights also had many military purposes. Meanwhile, there were almost no results from developments in a zero gravity environment for new medicines or alloys that could be applied to industries as they had anticipated.

However, through the program’s long activity, 355 people from 16 nations orbited around the earth. The monopolistic space activities of the U.S. and Soviet Union have had a huge significance across the world. From Japan, seven people flew in 12 flights. There are probably many children whose dreams swelled at the mystery of weightlessness shown them by their elders.

With the retiring of the shuttle, global space development enters a new era. Due to economic difficulties, America has abandoned plans for development of the next generation craft. Trips to the International Space Station (ISS) will be entrusted to the private sector, but it is believed that it will take several years for that to become practical. For now, the Russian spacecraft Soyuz is the only means to take astronauts to the ISS and back.

Currently, Japan, the European Union and Russia are bearing the burden of transporting supplies, goods and equipment for experiments. From here on, it is clear that manned space activities will not progress without international cooperation.

For Japan, experience in space grew dramatically due to participation in experiments in the shuttle program. It constructed Kibo [“Hope” in Japanese], the largest laboratory in the ISS, and developed the transport vehicle Kounotori [“White Stork”], which was responsible for transporting a large load of supplies. In manufacturing, Japan’s technology has been demonstrated. We want Japan to continue working with the technology that it developed and to experience the international cooperation that came from the shuttle era.

As of now, the ISS is planning to operate until 2020. We want Japan to learn and to utilize the technology tactically. It is also good to cooperate with other Asian nations. There should be meaning to the 400 billion yen per year that is invested.

Onward into space. What will we aim for next? Last year, President Obama announced plans to aim for the asteroids or Mars. There is also an idea to build a lunar base and launch from there into space. The materialization of this begins now, but it is certain that the strengths that were learned in the shuttle program mean forward progress for humanity.