Hi all,
What is know about the Lambda-4S in the West?
The Japanese rocket comes up on list from time to time, and is a
particular obsession mine. It's the smallest, simplest rocket that has
ever successfully put a payload in orbit. The way it came to be has a
fascinating backstory too. Professor Itokawa started with something
like $50,000 and a couple grad students then grew into a true space
program, launching the L-4S into orbit in 1970.
But I've hit a wall, reading just about everything I can find in
English. I'm working on translating technical documents from their
bulletins published in the 60's, but that is very slow progress.
My request is: please send me everything you've ever seen, in any
language, about the development of ISAS and Lambda! If you know of
books that mention it, or have seen diagrams, or know someone who
know's someone, anything at all!
I'm particularly interested in the social history. How did one guy and
some students build a space program? How much did it cost? What was
public support like?
I do plan to share the results of my research, though I'm not sure how
yet. I might just end up writing a bunch of blog posts. I think that
the Lambda-4S shares more in common with all the small sat launchers
being proposed now than anything else in history. There is probably a
lot to learn from them, but I'm afraid that it is unknown in the
English speaking world, but I would love to be wrong!
-Nathan
