To the moo-n: Cow dung fuels Japan’s space ambitions

Japan’s space trade opened doubtlessly an udder-ly new chapter on Thursday with a start-up testing a prototype rocket engine that runs on gas derived purely from a plentiful native supply: cow dung.

The experiment noticed the engine blast out a blue-and-orange flame 10-15 meters (30-50 toes) horizontally out of an open hangar door for round 10 seconds within the rural northern city of Taiki.

The liquid “biomethane” required was made totally from fuel derived from cow manure from two native dairy farms, in keeping with Interstellar Applied sciences chief government Takahiro Inagawa.

“We’re doing this not simply because it’s good for the setting however as a result of it may be produced regionally, it is rather price efficient, and it’s a gas with high performance and excessive purity,” Inagawa advised AFP.

“I don’t assume it’s an exaggeration to imagine this might be replicated …everywhere in the world,” he mentioned. “We’re the primary non-public enterprise to do that.”

Interstellar, which hopes to have the ability to put satellites in space utilizing the gas, teamed up with industrial fuel producer agency Air Water.

It really works with native farmers who’ve gear on their farms to course of their cow dung into biogas which Air Water collects and turns into the rocket fuel.

Useful resource-poor Japan “should safe domestically produced, carbon-neutral vitality now”, mentioned Tomohiro Nishikawa, an engineer at Air Water.

“The uncooked materials from this area’s cows has a lot potential. Ought to one thing change in international affairs, it is vital that Japan has an vitality supply that it has already in hand,” he added.

‘Moon Sniper’

Japan’s space company JAXA launched in September its “Moon Sniper” mission however the sector has been stricken by issues lately with two failed missions—one public and one non-public.

Japan has additionally had setbacks with its launch rockets, with mishaps after liftoff of the next-generation H3 in March and the usually dependable solid-fuel Epsilon final October.

In July, the take a look at of an Epsilon S rocket, an improved model of the Epsilon, led to an explosion 50 seconds after ignition.

Biogas derived from cow manure is already getting used for gas all over the world, together with to run buses within the Indian metropolis of Indore, as an alternative of extra polluting standard sources.

It helps mitigate the large environmental footprint of agriculture, which Greenpeace says is answerable for 14 % of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Burning biogas additionally releases greenhouse gases, however so does leaving it to degrade naturally, whereas runoff from farm animals pollutes waterways and soil.

Air Water’s biomethane is already being utilized by an area dairy and different factories, to warmth native houses and to run vans and ships as pilot packages.

Amongst collaborating native farmers is Eiji Mizushita, 58, who raises some 900 milk cows that collectively generate over 40 tons (80,000 kilos) of dung each day.

His farm has an industrial system to mechanically gather the waste, ferment it, and switch it into biogas, fertilizer and recycled bedding supplies for his animals.

Gross sales of biogas expands Mizushita’s revenue by about one %, however he mentioned the trouble is price it.

“I am excited to assume that our cow waste might be used to make it fly,” he mentioned of the rocket.

“We have to correctly eliminate and use manure. I additionally assume that the federal government and society ought to take a extra severe have a look at the significance of pure renewable vitality and encourage its manufacturing.”

© 2023 AFP