【英語版】射場・大樹に熱視線 北海道宇宙サミット２０２４
The "Hokkaido Space Summit 2024", one of Japan's greatest space business conferences, was held on October 10th at Bellclassic Obihiro in Obihiro City.
In the morning session, representatives from three domestic ventures, which are planning to launch rockets at the Hokkaido Spaceport in Taiki Town, expressed their optimism about Taiki's potential as a launch site. They also called for active policy support from the government to facilitate their efforts.
The first session featured Takahiro Inagawa, CEO of Interstellar Technologies Inc., Akihide Manabe, CEO of SPACE WALKER, Inc., and Kojiro Hatada, CEO of Innovative Space Carrier Inc.
Interstellar Technologies Inc. plans to launch the small satellite rocket "ZERO" in Taiki Town in the near future after this year. Inagawa announced that Taiki is suitable for launching even compared to overseas, but noted that Europe is rapidly bridging the gap and urged Japan to adopt a strategic, government-led approach.
SPACE WALKER, Inc. is now developing an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) aimed at launching satellites by 2028, with Taiki’s runway as the proposed launch location. Manabe expressed a strong commitment to leading globally and requested that the government support companies' challenging endeavors rather than focusing solely on past achievements.
Hatada stated that Innovative Space Carrier Inc. is working on reusable rockets and has conducted combustion tests at the HOSPO runway. He highlighted the strong administrative support in Taiki and mentioned ongoing considerations for broad regional cooperation in spaceports, such as the possibility of launching from Taiki and landing off the coast of Fukushima.
In the second session, Roosevelt "Ted" Mercer, Jr., who is the CEO of Virginia Spaceport Authority, also made a presentation. This political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia plays a central role in international cooperation agreements involving eight spaceports across five continents, including HOSPO Taiki town.
The summit was organized by a committee comprising Space Cotan, which is the operator of HOSPO, Taiki Town Government, Tokachi Mainichi News Paper, Inc. Group and TOKACHI ZAIDAN. This year marks the fourth summit, and it is the first time the Hokkaido Government has co-hosted the event. Deputy Governor Tsuyoshi Mitsuhashi delivered a brief greeting at the opening.
This is the first time a strong commitment to international collaboration has been demonstrated at the summit. In recognition of the partnership between the Virginia Spaceport Authority and HOSPO, CEO Mercer shared extensive insights gained from experience regarding the establishment of a well-equipped launch site, directly addressing the current challenges faced by Taiki Town.
Specifically, this involves recruiting for the essential supply chain needed for the rocket launch base, attracting related businesses, and providing a livable environment for employees, along with childcare, nursery care, and healthcare services. Additionally, Yoshinori Odagiri, the CEO of SPACE COTAN, also remarked, "International cooperation is becoming increasingly important, and from the perspective of competing globally, we want to collaborate and work together with spaceports in Japan and around the world."(Xu Jing)
◆関連記事
・宇宙サミット開幕 射場・大樹に国の支援求める声も－十勝毎日新聞電子版（2024/10/10）
