Akita Prefecture carves niche in small-scale rocketry
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AKITA – A small prototype observation rocket roared skyward from the shore in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, in March. It was an early step in a program that hopes to produce larger rockets to survey smog, a niche sector with few rivals.
Weighing about 17 kg and measuring 2.4 meters in length, the hybrid rocket is powered by a combination of liquid oxidizer and solid fuel, and was developed by Akita University with the help of Akita Prefecture as well as local businesses.
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Whereas rocket development usually involves central governments and big businesses, this “Made-in-Akita” rocket, which involves local governments and smaller entities, may stimulate a revival of the local economy.
An Akita University team started developing the rocket in 2013 with the help of prefecture-affiliated Akita Industrial Technology Center and seven companies in and out of Akita.
“We struggled the most over what kind of fuel to use,” said Akimasa Tsutsumi, 33, an assistant professor at Akita University.
The advantage of hybrid rockets is they can be fueled with liquid oxidizer, which is less toxic than other fuels. The downside is that few rockets use such fuel, meaning the team had to take a trial-and-error approach.
In August, the team also conducted a combustion experiment to improve its engine. The goal is to develop an observation rocket of about 6 meters in length, costing just a few million yen each, which could be launched to an altitude of 60 km by the end of 2017.
“If we don’t aim too high (in quality), we could definitely develop it,” said team member Yutaka Wada, 34, a former Akita University lecturer who now works as a researcher at Chiba Institute of Technology.
An altitude of 60 km is suitable for surveys for particle-laden smog known as PM2.5, and is just between where bigger rockets and balloons normally fly.
Demand is rising for observation platforms at this altitude and rivals are believed to be few.
Local governments are providing all-out support for the project. The city of Noshiro, where an experiment base for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is located, has asked a local fisheries cooperative to help in collecting test rockets that fall into the sea.
“We will continue to support it with the goal of making it a business,” said Satoru Kamata, 61, who heads Akita Industrial Technology Center.
Akita University is also enthusiastic about pursuing space education.
For a decade, the university has been inviting students from grade school to high school to learn about space through the launch of model rockets. In addition, it set up a new course to study rocket technology two years ago.
Looking forward, the university aims to produce human resources for companies and research institutes involved in the space industry.
“I want to study state-of-the-art technology in rocket development and I’m thinking of working at companies in the prefecture,” said Takehiro Suzuki, 20, a second-year university student.
The rocket project is also helping to raise the technological level of local businesses.
Material maker Tohsoh Corp., based in the city of Akita, dispatched an employee to a prefectural organization to learn how to mold carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic.
With such technology, the rocket team created the fuselage of the prototype rocket launched in March.
“We hope to use the technology for our business in the future,” a Tohsoh executive said.
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