Japanese satellites enter orbit to monitor Fukushima, Chernobyl
A pair of small Japanese satellites for monitoring environmental changes around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and capturing images of areas around the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine were placed in orbit shortly after they were launched Thursday night from a Russian base.
The devices, built by a team at the University of Tokyo, are expected to start undertaking their tasks around September at the earliest.
They will photograph areas around the plants — the sites of the world’s two worst accidents involving nuclear power — on a regular basis using an optical camera. They will also gather data on vegetation patterns and other environmental changes over the years by communicating with observation devices on the ground.
“I hope that the data will help Japan and Ukraine correctly acknowledge the impact on the environment near the two plants,” said Tokyo University professor Shinichi Nakasuka.
The university developed the two satellites — the Hodoyoshi-3 and Hodoyoshi-4 — on a relatively slim budget of ¥300 million each. It required less than two years to build one unit, sharply reducing the time and costs required for development, the team said.
Nakasuka said “the extremely high threshold” for space development has been lowered.
The satellites were mounted on a Ukrainian Dnipro rocket converted for civilian use after it was developed as an intercontinental ballistic missile. They were among 33 small satellites from 17 countries carried by the vehicle.
The two satellites will also monitor river levels globally, and “22 countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Bangladesh will receive the data as part of efforts to avoid damage from major floods,” Nakasuka said.
The launch, which had been planned for last year, fell behind schedule, but Nakasuka said the delay was not caused by the political situation in Ukraine.
In the Chernobyl disaster, 30 people were killed in an explosion, a further 2,500 died of related illnesses and the surrounding area was turned into wilderness by the radioactive fallout.
Full decommissioning of the Fukushima No. 1 plant is expected to take several decades. The hot zone around the plant remains off-limits, and experts warn that some communities may have to be abandoned because of high levels of radiation.
The devices, built by a team at the University of Tokyo, are expected to start undertaking their tasks around September at the earliest.
They will photograph areas around the plants — the sites of the world’s two worst accidents involving nuclear power — on a regular basis using an optical camera. They will also gather data on vegetation patterns and other environmental changes over the years by communicating with observation devices on the ground.
“I hope that the data will help Japan and Ukraine correctly acknowledge the impact on the environment near the two plants,” said Tokyo University professor Shinichi Nakasuka.
The university developed the two satellites — the Hodoyoshi-3 and Hodoyoshi-4 — on a relatively slim budget of ¥300 million each. It required less than two years to build one unit, sharply reducing the time and costs required for development, the team said.
Nakasuka said “the extremely high threshold” for space development has been lowered.
The satellites were mounted on a Ukrainian Dnipro rocket converted for civilian use after it was developed as an intercontinental ballistic missile. They were among 33 small satellites from 17 countries carried by the vehicle.
The two satellites will also monitor river levels globally, and “22 countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Bangladesh will receive the data as part of efforts to avoid damage from major floods,” Nakasuka said.
The launch, which had been planned for last year, fell behind schedule, but Nakasuka said the delay was not caused by the political situation in Ukraine.
In the Chernobyl disaster, 30 people were killed in an explosion, a further 2,500 died of related illnesses and the surrounding area was turned into wilderness by the radioactive fallout.
Full decommissioning of the Fukushima No. 1 plant is expected to take several decades. The hot zone around the plant remains off-limits, and experts warn that some communities may have to be abandoned because of high levels of radiation.
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