Kansai Airport Getting Back Normal Earlier

Railroad Access Resumes from September 18

Two railroad operators connecting the Kansai International Airport and opposite main land, JR West Japan and Nankai Railroad, have decided on Sept 15 that they will operate their train services from the starting trains on September 18.

Motor access still restricted 

Kansai Airport permits only bus service and no personally owned or rent-a-cars are allowed to trespass the connecting bridge that had been badly damaged by a collision of a tanker during the typhoon day and only half of the original lanes are being used for two-way traffic.

Terminal 1 Back to Service from Sept 21

Currently closed sections of the Terminal 1 will be operational fully on September 21 resulting all flight schedule to normal.

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For the latest news and information, you are advised to visit the website of Kansai Airport.

https://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en

Kansai Airport Has No Flight Operations on Sept 6

Typhoon-struck Kansai Airport will have no flight operations on September 6.

At present, there is no definite plans to resume full operations of the airport. For one thing, the connecting bridge remains damaged with a collision of a fuel tanker on September 4 during the storm.

However, its runway B with fewer damage  will resume operations in a week, the Kansai Airport Company said.

Kansai Airport Closed Due to Super Typhoon

 Sankei Shimbun

Typhoon Hit Kansai Airport Suspends Operations; Connecting Bridge Collided by a Tanker

4 September 2018

Western Japan was hit by a strong typhoon on Tuesday and Kansai International Airport reported a flooding at its passenger terminal, apron and a runway. The airport built on reclaimed island was hit by high wave and heavy rain as the typhoon, one of the largest scale in recent years, passed the Osaka Bay area in daytime Tuesday. Water as deep as tens of centimeters covered the airport's critical area and the Airport operations stopped since afternoon Tuesday and the administration admitted it would be rather hard to resume all operations on September 5.

To worsen the situations, a tanker hit the connecting bridge to the airport in late afternoon on Tuesday, making the airport isolated from main land.

SS Houun  Maru, 2,590 tons, hit the bridge on 1:32 pm local time as it lost its control by high waves. There was no injury to its crew of 11. The tanker had been anchored nearby the airport after unloading jet fuel at receiving pier of the airport.

Imagery right after the collision shows motor road section of the bridge was damaged. There is also a report a girder of the bridge was hit as well.

Since Kansai Airport needs this bridge, both motorways and railroad, for access from and to the mainland, this accident may further delay resumption of normal operations at least until Japanese authorities finish a field investigation. There is fast boat connection between the Airport and Kobe that has been suspended its service due to rough seas on Tuesday.

Double-punched Kansai Airport needs to keep everything under control as soon as possible to resume its everyday operations. ■

UPDATE:　The damaged connecting bridge still keeps half of four lanes for motor traffic. However, traffic is still being closed due to weather conditions and the investigation by authorities should be finished first.

UPDATE: Reportedly almost 3,000 people are being confined in the airport island as the traffic is not available as of 10 pm JST, September 4.

New Air Force One of Japan Arrives at Chitose

Recapping Japanese Air Force One: Enter 777-300ERs, Exit 747-400s

JASDF welcomes your ideas on how to make use of retired aircraft

Asahi Shimbun

From various domestic reporting,

First example of a pair of new Boeing 777-300ERs ordered by the government of
Japan (GOJ) has arrived at  Shin Chitose Airport, Hokkaido, on August 17.
The aircraft will undergo an official commissioning ceremony at the adjacent
Chitose Air Base of the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) followed by
preparations for its full-fledged operations from April 2019 including pilots and
crew training.

The new aircraft features a new lively inspired from the national flag of Japan,
with air stream red line painted on white airframe and big circle of red on vertical
wing. Another example will arrive to Japan by December.

In 2013 GOJ started replacement of current pair of Boeing 747-400s that started
operations in 1993.  In the following year, it was downselected to a pair of Boeing
777-300ERs. Estimated cost of JPY37 billion a piece, the new GOJ exclusive
aircraft fleet will show better fuel economy and extended range to carry such VIPs as
the Emperor, prime ministers and such for their overseas trips. As there is no
operator of passenger 747s in Japan and there will be no place for maintenance of
Boeing 747s in Japan after 2019, GOJ had tochoose a new aircraft to replace the
747s.

Maintenance of the new fleet is contracted to ANA instead of Japan Air Lines that
currently is designated for the Boeing 747-400s.

#1 aircraft was assembled in Seattle, Washington and underwent its interior work
by Jet Aviation in Basel, Switzerland.

As the current fleet of Boeing 747-400s. 20-1011 and 20-1012, will cease operations
by the end of March 2019, JASDF has started request for information on how to
make use of the aircraft after their retirement. GOJ acquired the two aircraft in the
early 1990s with JPY 36 billion. The fleet logged over 16,000 flight hours by
supporting Japanese diplomacy since then.

As they are the very first aircraft for exclusive use of GOJ, they have historical
value and known for their contribution to Japan.

JASDF held a briefing session for interested parties to make use of the 747s after
the retirement where over 15 corporations and organizations took part in. RFI will
be closed on August 24 and JASDF is reportedly to finalize its plans.

Some of retired JASDF aircraft have been preserved and exhibited at JASDF
museum in Hamamatsu Air Base and other places. But they huge birds. Since
the 747s have been based on Chitose Air Base, its home town Chitose city
sought after a chance to preserve the aircraft but it gave up the idea after
knowing it takes over JPY 100 million annually for its maintenance.

JASDF welcomes your innovative plans and proposals. ■

Feb 27, 2018: Japan Succeeds to Launch New Spy Satellite

H2A#38 just launched with information gathering satellite ‘Optical #6’, 1:34pm, JST, Tanegashim Space Center, Kagoshima　

H2A rocket #38 was launched 1:34 Japan Standard Time, February 27 with information gathering satellite optics #6 from Tanegashima Space Cener, Kagoshima southern Japan.  The satellite successfully entered scheduled orbit.  The satellite would help to monitor North Korea’s nuclear and missile development from space.

Optics satellite #6 will replace #4 that still functioning after its designed life and it carries sensors effective to photograph daytime.

It is reportedly to have resolution of about 30 cm to distinguish types of automobiles, twice resolution of satellite #4 with 60cm resolution.

Total development cost of the new satellite is about 30.7 billion JPY (about 290 million USD)and launch cost is about 11 billion JPY(103 million USD).

Japan operates two optic satellites and four radar satellites and tries to keep eyes over North Korea to photograph that country once a day at least.

In order to monitor North Korean military facilities more ,GOJ is trying to increase the number of satellites to ten, consisting of 4 optical and radar satellites each and two relaying satellites so that it becomes possible to monitor North Korea once in every 12 hours.

Gathered information is classified for security reason but GOJ released degraded photographs of natural disasters in Japan including heavy rain in northern Kyushu of last July and Mt. Shirane that erupted in January.

H2A, with this launching, made 32 consecutively successful launching with record of success at 97.3%.

Narit Air Control Radio Jammed by China; North Korea also Jamming Their Unfavorable Radio Show from Japan

Sankei Shimbun reported on February 16, 2018 that China and North Korea have tried to jam radio communication especially air traffic control and some flight departing or landing at Narita Airport have been affected several times.

Japanese government requested to Chinese government to get rid off the interference while reporting to ITU about North Korean attempts as Japan has no diplomatic relations with that country.

One such a case was May 2016, when jamming was directly aimed at air traffic radio communication between control tower of Narita and aircraft.  The same frequency of radio wave was beamed and the Narita tower switched to other frequency to avoid danger.

North Korea, too, beamed a similar jamming radio wave toward aviation traffic communication of Narita.  Those jamming from the two countries may disturb radio communication with fishing vessels in distant seas from Japan.

International Monitoring Network

To counter with those jamming from China and North Korea, Japan will show initiative to construct a monitoring network for those unwelcome radio transmission with Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Installing state-of-the art shortwave monitoring equipments at each country, it will allow to tracking the exact source of such jamming.

Operation of this monitoring network will start in 2020.

Those three countries, too, are having a tense relations with China over East China Sea territorial disputes, reporting frequent jamming from China as it is assumed and causing negative effect to ships and aircraft trafficking.

Tokyo expects more stringent request to China to eradicate such jamming  once the international network of monitoring with Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia starts operation as it would be able to track exact source of such transmission.

Why do they try to jam our communication?

Having a tension too over East China Sea, Japanese vessels have reported frequent communication disturbance by Chinese jamming. Each time as the government requested to Chinese counterpart to get rid of that, such jamming became less right after such requests, but it usually becomes rampant again soon.

North Korea has tried to disturb radio program aired toward the closed country by a Japanese private organization calling for release of abducted Japanese nationals by North Korea by transmitting jamming.■

JAXA Succeeds in Launching Low Cost Telegraph Pole-sized Rokect for Microsats

15:11 JST February 4, 2018

The Editor

SS-520 has been launched from Kagoshima. February 3, 2018, Nikkei

Nikkei and other media reported a successful launching of smaller rocket ‘SS-520’ by JAXA from Uchinoura Space Observation Site in Kagoshima at 14:03 local time on February 3.  SS-520 is almost as long as a telegraph pole and is one of the smallest rocket to launch satellites in the world.  

The rocket transported a microsat TRICOM-1R by the University of Tokyo into orbit after seven minutes of the launching.

The success of this launch will pave a way to expansion of space business with affordable cost as the rocket was intended to prove lower cost of launching by using civilian parts and components extensively to lower the cost.

SS-520 can be launched with about JPY 500 million ($4.6 million), much lower than JPY 4 billion for Epsilon, another solid fuel rocket and H-2A heavy lift with JPY10 billion.

The rocket incorporates commercial parts and components as used in home electronics to curtail the cost. JAXA could prove commercial off-the-shelf parts can be used in outer space. Canon Electronics, in particular, assisted the project by providing a system to control the flight path of the rocket.

Microsats, weighing several hundred kilograms, can be obtained very reasonably and private enterprises and universities can afford them. Demand for microsats is growing and one report speculates a market size of 460 units to be launched in 2023.

A constellation of microsats will produce the use of internet everywhere by trafficking of signals.  Geological data of  the ground surface will make it feasible to launch advanced services in navigation, agriculture or financing as well as predicting natural disasters.

Canon Electronics has launched a joint venture company with IHI Aerospace, Shimizu Construction and others for producing its own rocket based on this experience. The company plans to build its own launching pad in Wakayma to engage in seamless space business. Its goal is keep a launching cost less than a couple of million Yen level and to meet customers request on scheduling flexibly to appeal the global market.■

Kawaski C-2 Starts Flight Operatons at JASDF

　　Kawasaki C-2, JASDF

Sankei Shimbun reported on February 1 that C-2 military transport of JASDF started regular flight operation on January 31. The indigenously developed jet transport aircraft have been deployed to Miho Air Base in Tottori at the Sea of Japan coast since March last year for testing.

The daily reported that the first flight was personnel transport for collecting of still undiscovered bones of soldiers in WW2 at Iwo To (Iwo Jima) via Iruma Air Base, Saitama, to fly to the volcanic island.

One of four aircraft assigned to the Miho base is given this mission. JASDF personnel sent the aircraft for its first mission.

C-2 was developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries for JASDF to replace aging C-1 transport jet, a vintage of the 1970s but the first Japanese military jet transport.

Powered by two GE CF6-80C2K1F engines, C-2 has wingspan of 44.4m , length 43.9 m and height of 14.2 m. Maximum takeoff weight is 141 tons and it can fly as far as 4,500 km with 30-ton payload, and maximum payload 36 tons. Its cruising speed is Mach 0.8 at 12,200 m altitude. C-2 requires just 500 m as shortest take-off.

Its maximum takeoff weight is close to retired Lockheed C-141 with 146 tons.

JASDF plans to acquire a total of just 13 examples of C-2 at present. ■

JASDF C-2 Transport Demonstration