TOKYO (Reuters) – Myanmar’s first satellite is being held aboard the International Space Station following the coup in Myanmar, as the Japanese space agency and a Japanese university decide what to do with it, two Japanese university officials said.
The $ 15 million satellite was built by Hokkaido University in Japan in a joint project with the Myanmar Government-funded University of Aerospace Engineering (MAEU). It is the first of a set of two 50 kg microsatellites equipped with cameras designed to monitor agriculture and fishing.
Human rights activists and some Japanese officials are worried that these chambers could be used for military purposes by the junta that took power in Myanmar on February 1st.
This put the implementation on hold, as Hokkaido University is in talks with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the two officials from Hokkaido University said.
“We will not get involved in anything to do with the military. The satellite was not designed for that, “one of the officials, a project manager, told Reuters, asking not to be identified.
“We are discussing what to do, but we do not know when it will be implemented. If it is stopped, our hope is that the project could be relaunched at some point. ”
The manager did not say when the satellite should be deployed or when JAXA will have to make a decision to either go ahead or delay it.
A second official from Hokkaido University said the contract with the MFAU did not specify that the satellite could not be used for military purposes. However, the data from the spacecraft would be collected by the Japanese university and cannot be accessed independently by Myanmar officials, the second official said.
Since the coup, university officials have not been able to contact the MAEU rector, Prof. Kyi Thwin, the second official added.
JAXA officials could not be reached for comment. The MFA did not respond to calls for comment or a spokesperson for the Myanmar junta.
The satellite was launched by NASA on February 20 as a small part of a large and varied payload of supplies to the International Space Station 400 km (250 miles) above the earth. It has since been retained by JAXA in the Japanese Kibo experiment module. JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi is one of seven crew members who are now aboard the space station.
Japan has close ties with Myanmar and is one of the largest aid donors. In condemning the violence, he did not take such a harsh stance against the coup as the United States and other Western countries that have imposed sanctions.
While the spacecraft was not built to military specifications, Teppei Kasai, an Asia Human Rights Watch officer, said it would be easy for Myanmar’s military leaders to apply their technology for military use.
“So the Japanese universities involved should suspend the project and urgently review it for potential human rights risks,” Kasai said.
Reporting by Tim Kelly; Montage by Peter Graff