New Challenges to Realize a Beautiful Mosaic, The Way A Former JAXA Director Moves On. 2nd Half.
This is the fifth installment of the WARPSPACE member interview project, featuring Takashi Hamazaki, who retired as a member of the board of directors of JAXA and is now working as a warp space counselor.
Mr. Hamazaki has been at the forefront of Japan’s space development since his days at NASDA, so why is he joining WARPSPACE now? Mr. Hamazaki, who has been at the forefront of space development in Japan since his days at NASDA, will talk about why he joined WARPSPACE now, and what he thinks about not only the company but also the space industry in the future, in a conversation with our CEO, Tsunemachi.
If you haven’t seen the first part yet, be sure to go here.
5. How should the fragmented mosaics move toward large-scale questions and huge goals, such as social issues?
[Hamasaki]
I know this is a difficult issue, but frankly speaking, I think we all need to think about what ideals we should have. However, since this is not something that can be controlled or done by anyone, I think it is up to society as a whole to decide the direction, challenge it, and correct it through dialogue and participation in a democracy.
It is difficult for the private sector to be in charge of everything, but there are many ways to participate, such as making recommendations to the government and providing technology. While it is important for us to work on our own, I believe that we can find new directions if we discuss the issues with the larger community, together with the surrounding organizations related to the issues.
[Hamasaki]
For example, the protection of the ozone layer is one of a number of trace elements in the atmosphere, so why was ozone regulated?
First of all, the scientific mechanism of ozone layer depletion became clear at an early stage. First, the scientific mechanism of ozone depletion became clear at an early stage, second, the measures needed to protect the ozone layer and their effects could be predicted scientifically, and third, the effects of these measures could be predicted scientifically. The impact of the technology was well-timed to match the issues and concerns of society.
Just like surfing, the waves will always come, but whether you can find a good wave and ride it properly depends on your experience and preparation.
Starting a project is similar to surfing, and even if you say the same thing, if the timing is wrong, you may not be taken seriously, or on the other hand, things may move easily even if the problem is difficult. There are some things you can’t understand until you try them, but I think it’s a good idea to make a diverse group of friends, share resources and ideas, and wait for the big wave through trial and error.
However, “I’ll do anything” or “I’ll propose anything” is not concrete and does not bring in any money. Therefore, it is important to have a strong will and intention as a pioneer, to express your intention to make concrete proposals, and to respond with proper countermeasures in case things do not go well. I think it is important to recognize that you may be wrong, but without trial and error, you will not be able to come up with countermeasures or wisdom for the next step.
I believe that many of the people at WARPSPACE have this ability, but I would like them to always cultivate the challenging mindset of a planner.
[Tsunemachi]
That’s right. Private companies are built on the basis of providing one solution to one issue that exists in reality (or in the future), so the needs of society and the solutions of companies should match.
I think the reason why social issues and the space industry seem to diverge is that there is a difference in the time axis. When the fruits of the space industry can be utilized more on the ground in a few decades, new issues and needs will arise, and at that time, various industries including the space industry will take up the challenge. I believe that the essence of WARPSPACE’s business is to provide solutions to the needs of decades and centuries to come.
The space industry costs a lot of money, but until now, the budget has been allocated to policies that the government considers important.
Of course, that is important, but now there are more things that can be done by start-ups, so we can come up with a wide range of solutions based on various needs. I think of this as the democratization of the space industry. In the future, I believe that the gap between space development and needs will become smaller, and the timing will become more aligned.
[Hamasaki]
I strongly feel the same thing in terms of technology, and in recent years, the technology to make space equipment has become more common.
Space equipment requires special technologies such as radiation resistance, and in the past, parts and components were always two to three generations behind consumer products. Now, however, the level of technology in the private sector is improving rapidly, and although there is still a barrier between consumer products and space products, I think the gap is narrowing considerably.
One of the important factors in space development is the failure rate, which is calculated by using a number of the same equipment for a long period of time, but the failure rate of consumer products is much lower than it used to be.
It takes a lot of time and money to verify the reliability of a product for use in a national space program. In that respect, venture companies can suddenly use the developed parts in small projects, even though there is a probability of failure.
If we can leverage and balance the different speeds and requirements of the traditional space industry and venture businesses, I believe that society as a whole will be able to achieve its goals more quickly.
In this age where each individual can pursue their own goals in their own way, the way of life for venture businesses should not be to compete with or destroy traditional large corporations.
[Tsunemachi]
We, as startups, would be in trouble if the large corporations that we invest in were to disappear, and I think we should coexist with them. In addition, what Mr. Hamasaki says about “society as a whole” is very important. I believe that democratic societies are strong because they have the highest possibility of achieving the overall optimum result as a result of everyone doing whatever they want in different ways.
Each entity works hard to create what it wants to create, and the aggregate of those efforts becomes a society. I think we will see the same kind of technological innovation in the private sector that we have seen in the past in the field of space.
[Interviewer]
I’m an interviewer and I’m very impressed right now. …..
6. As WARPSPACE grows, what kind of people do you think would make it a better team?
[Hamasaki]
In addition to securing the essential human resources for implementing the current project as soon as possible, I would like to see the involvement of people with discerning and diverse skills to help realize the mosaic. I think that each phase of a project requires different human resources, and we need to make sure that people in the right roles for each phase can be effective.
It tends to happen that more and more work is gathered to those who are highly capable in an organization, and as a result, it interferes with the concentration of those people, and this is an issue that small companies have to get rid of as they grow. Unlike a company with hundreds of employees, it is difficult to make the best arrangement for a small venture, so I think it is important to have the ability to sensitively detect and respond to changes in the situation. For this reason, I think it is important to constantly improve one’s adaptability, breadth, and potential, even in general terms.
I think it is always important to have a sense of crisis as well as to have big dreams for the future. If I had to describe the problem in Japanese society today, I would say that there is a lack of dreams for the future and a lack of a sense of crisis. We need to have a dream that we will ride the next big wave, and at the same time a sense of crisis that if we miss it, we will be in trouble, and we need to be fully prepared.
We were able to start WARPSPACE because we saw the first wave, and the next big wave is sure to come, so we have to be ready to catch it.
[Tsunemachi]
Since Mr. Hamasaki made a broad conceptual point, I would like to be more specific and say that I would like to see people who can fill in the gaps that we lack in the short term. I think it is very important to have people who have talent. WARPSPACE is not a company that builds all of its own satellites, but rather works in a relationship with suppliers, so it is very important to communicate with our partners.
Therefore, I would like to see a person who can manage a single project with many different entities.
If I were to give a high idea, I would like to have several people with project management experience. Our business is in the field of satellite manufacturing, and in the field of communications, such as ground systems and communications infrastructure, we would be very grateful if people with both business and development perspectives could join us from outside.
Of course, we will build it up ourselves, but we would like to have people who can manage each function of satellite, ground, and communications, so we would like to approach them with focus right away.
In addition, as a university-launched venture, we are planning to set up a system to assign people to university satellite projects, so if you are interested, please contact us. The future of the space industry is not just about building spacecraft, so it is also important to have people who can create business, and people who have a global perspective and a design perspective.
Our WARP-01 does not need to be a red satellite in order to function. However, because it was red, it attracted a lot of attention, and the JAXA reviewers said that it was the coolest satellite they had ever seen.
I also think that space development now needs to be more attractive to people, so in a broader sense, I would love to have people with design thinking involved.
7. Lastly, what do you think is the most important aspect of “compass of behavior”?
Our Compass of Behavior
01. Leap
02. Goal oriented
03. Decide with fact
04. Chase one chance
05. Resilient spirit
06. Respect your crew
07. Love family
08. Adventure
09. Be attractive
[Hamasaki]
All of these elements are important, but if I had to choose one, I would say “03. Decide with fact”. Perhaps it is because the young people at WARPSPACE lack experience in the field, especially experience of failure, but in a sense, they do not understand the true severity of technology, or to put it another way, I sometimes felt that they were “underestimating technology.
There are a lot of things in actual development that are not written in textbooks, and I think it is a world where you really have to be careful and penetrate to understand.
I think this will be an item that we will further refine and put into practice as we continue to build hardware.
08.[Adventure] is another important point that I would like to mention.
Adventure is another important point. You have to imagine what the world would be like if you could make it a reality, and then you have to continue to work hard to expand and improve your dream, and gamble on the possibility of doubling your dream. Not only at work, but also in your daily life, I would like to tell you that it is important to keep working on the goals that lead to your vision, while keeping your sense of adventure in mind.
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