NASA May Hire Japanese Spacecraft For ISS Service Mission 87
schliz writes "NASA is talking to Japan's space agency about using one of its spacecraft for servicing missions to the International Space Station, according to Japanese media reports. NASA has been considering various options to maintain its commitment to the Space Station after the Space Shuttle is retired from service in 2010. According to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, 'unofficial negotiations' between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) began in February."
Re:In return? (Score:3, Informative)
Denied by NASA (Score:3, Informative)
NASA Statement (Score:3, Informative)
Re:This is not true, according to NASA (Score:5, Informative)
Re:That's odd. (Score:4, Informative)
Russia's Progress supply ships have been keeping the ISS running for years. When the Shuttle was grounded after Columbia, it was the Russians who kept the project alive.
It was a close-run thing, though; the Shuttle's cargo capacity dwarfs Progress, and it was a major loss. Hence the development of independent cargo ships by ESA and Japan. These are much bigger than Soyuz, and also divide the labour three ways instead of relying on Russia alone to produce enough rockets.
Uhm...think again... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:This is not true, according to NASA (Score:5, Informative)
From my email yesterday:
From: NASA News (hqnews@mediaservices.nasa.gov)
Sent: Mon 7/21/08 4:00 PM
To: NASA News (hqnews@mediaservices.nasa.gov)
July 21, 2008
John Yembrick
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0602
John.yembrick-1@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 08-181
STATEMENT ON INACCURATE REPORTS ABOUT JAPANESE CARGO SERVICES
WASHINGTON -- Contrary to news reports, NASA has not officially or
unofficially been discussing the purchase of H-II Transfer Vehicles
(HTV) -- uninhabited resupply cargo ships for the space station --
from the Japanese Space Agency, or JAXA.
NASA is committed to domestic commercial cargo resupply to the space
station and does not plan to procure cargo delivery services from
Japan. As part of our original agreements as compensation for common
system operating costs NASA has limited cargo capability on the
Japanese and European cargo vehicles. NASA has recently issued a
request for proposal for the cargo needs of International Space
Station beyond those supplied by our current international
agreements. NASA has chosen to depend on commercial resupply of cargo
delivery to the station.
-end-
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Re:That's odd. (Score:3, Informative)
Well, only sorta. The HTV [wikipedia.org] is untested and so is the H-IIB [wikipedia.org] booster that will be used to place it in orbit.
The spacecraft in question (the HTV) has been on the drawing boards for well over a decade - originally scheduled to enter service in 2001, it has been much delayed by lack of funding by JAXA and ongoing problems with the H-II [wikipedia.org] booster.
Japan is one of the major partners as well... That being said, we are poking sticks at the Russians but they can barely meet their own commitments for the foreseeable future. (The Soyuz and Progress capsules are built JIT and the components thereof in small intermittent lots - which makes it very difficult to increase the production rate.)
Re:In return? (Score:2, Informative)
it's called money. JAXA would get cold, hard cash in return for HTV (which still hasn't flown)
Most NASA ISS deals are "No Exchange of Funds". It's all barters - you build it, I'll fly it; I'll maintain it, you give me some cargo room; I'll let you use it, you'll give me a crew member slot; etc. Some deals are using money (most notably some of the deals with Russia, and I think Italy (not ESA)), but the majority of them are barters.