Japan Looking To Initiate An Early Warning Satellite Program + Unmanned Lunar Expedition

A Japanese government task force has suggested the introduction of an early warning satellite that can detect missile launches, in its draft of the nation’s first basic plan on the development and use of space, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The proposal by Prime Minister Taro Aso‘s space development strategy headquarters about the satellite comes on the heels of North Korea’s ballistic missile launch on April 5th. The task force also proposed in their draft report a lunar expedition as a core element of the nation’s space development strategy, aimed at using resources from the moon. The draft is expected to be approved by the panel next Monday, and by the government in late May after public consultation.

With regard to the use of space for national security, the plan outlined by the task force suggests the government launch an early warning satellite. “The role that space is expected to play has become greater than ever with the situation of North Korea launching a missile in April 2009, despite the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions and concern from the global community, which urged the nation’s self-restraint [from launching the missile],” the draft says. In particular, the draft suggests a five-year government plan be compiled to develop and use a satellite system for security purposes to promote research into sensors necessary for such a satellite. The nation currently has three information-gathering satellites in orbit. The task force proposal would put a fourth satellite up within five years.

The panel has left the issue of how the new basic plan should be positioned among defense policies for when the government reviews the National Defense Program Guidelines and the Midterm Defense Program later this year. Overall, the government would launch 34 satellites over five years through 2013, according to the latest space strategy. The draft also predicts an increase in the amount of space debris, in light of two recent incidents–the collision of a U.S. satellite with a Russian satellite, and a test by China that destroyed a satellite with a ballistic missile. With this in mind, the task force says the government will take the initiative in contributing to the preservation of the environment in space by reducing the creation of new debris and monitoring existing debris together with the international community. The draft also states that the government will consider an unmanned lunar expedition — a first step toward a manned mission — to take the initiative in studies into the possibility of lunar resource use, spending one or two years to examine the significance and goals of the project and cost estimates.