Space Development Day (Uchū Kaihatsu Kinenbi)

What Is Space Development Day?

October 4 is "Space Development Day" in Japan. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite. The event shocked the United States and other Western countries — the so-called "Sputnik shock" — and marked the dawn of the Space Age.

Sputnik 1 and the Space Race

A small satellite's success set the world's space development in motion.

• Sputnik 1: A metal sphere about 58 cm across and weighing about 84 kg with four antennas, it circled the Earth roughly every 96 minutes while sending a "beep, beep" radio signal. The signal continued for about three weeks until its batteries ran out, and the satellite burned up on reentry in January 1958.
• From rivalry to cooperation to the private sector: Spurred by the Sputnik shock, the U.S. founded NASA in 1958 and landed on the Moon with Apollo 11 in 1969. After an era of international cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS), private companies now play a major role in areas such as rocket launches.

Japan's Path in Space

• The Pencil Rocket: Japan's space program is said to have begun in 1955 with test launches of the roughly 23 cm "Pencil Rocket" by Dr. Hideo Itokawa and his team.
• Osumi, Japan's first satellite: Launched on February 11, 1970, Osumi made Japan the fourth country, after the USSR, the U.S., and France, to put a satellite into orbit with its own rocket.

Space Trivia

• A dog in orbit: Sputnik 2, launched in November 1957, carried the dog Laika, known as the first animal to orbit the Earth.
• Space tech at home: Memory foam, which came out of NASA research, is used in pillows and mattresses.
• Space debris: Defunct satellites and rocket fragments are piling up in orbit and pose a collision risk. Technologies to remove debris are under development.
• You can see the ISS: Under good conditions the ISS can be seen with the naked eye as a bright moving point of light. JAXA's website and others list viewing times.

Ideas for Space Development Day

• Look up when the ISS will pass overhead and watch the night sky.
• Catch up on the latest space news, such as lunar exploration and private rockets.
• Ask family or coworkers whether they'd go on a space trip if they could.
• Visit a science museum or planetarium.

A Small Step That Opened an Era

October 4 is the day a satellite only about 58 cm across opened humanity's Space Age. Within a little over a decade of Sputnik 1, humans had walked on the Moon, and today people live in space for months at a time. Tonight, look up and think about the challenges still being pursued far above us.