The Japan Times Online: "Spacecraft technicians tutored in art of soldering
Veteran craftsmen tapped as teachers to ward off any further chance of rocket glitches
Japan's space agency is giving special soldering iron training to technicians who manufacture parts for H-IIA rockets to help them improve the quality of their work.
The idea for the training came in January when a last-minute problem cropped up in a part for a H-IIA at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. plant in Aichi Prefecture. The rocket was to be loaded with a satellite to gather intelligence for the government.
That led the agency to begin offering special training to technicians at 25 companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., in March.
The teachers are veteran masters of the soldering iron, a tool long used to connect electrical parts that is still considered useful in working with parts in space rockets.
The craftsmen are no longer in active work but the agency asked them to offer their expertise to skilled workers so the techniques can be handed down to posterity.
Most people consider satellites and rockets the cream of high technology, produced by high-tech equipment. Actually, most parts are handcrafted and one of a kind.
In late August, the space agency held a class in Tokyo's Akihabara district to train about 20 technicians in the technique of operating soldering irons, which seems easy but requires skill.
The knowledge that an error on their part in making rocket or satellite parts could lead to an accident made those taking the course tense.
Fujiya Matsuda, 73, a former NEC Corp. technician who in the past was named a modern-day master of soldering, was among the teachers.
The teachers praised one man for the skillful way he carried out his work, but they were critical of those who failed to properly handle the soldering irons, saying the parts they soldered could hardly be used in space."
Veteran craftsmen tapped as teachers to ward off any further chance of rocket glitches
Japan's space agency is giving special soldering iron training to technicians who manufacture parts for H-IIA rockets to help them improve the quality of their work.
The idea for the training came in January when a last-minute problem cropped up in a part for a H-IIA at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. plant in Aichi Prefecture. The rocket was to be loaded with a satellite to gather intelligence for the government.
That led the agency to begin offering special training to technicians at 25 companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., in March.
The teachers are veteran masters of the soldering iron, a tool long used to connect electrical parts that is still considered useful in working with parts in space rockets.
The craftsmen are no longer in active work but the agency asked them to offer their expertise to skilled workers so the techniques can be handed down to posterity.
Most people consider satellites and rockets the cream of high technology, produced by high-tech equipment. Actually, most parts are handcrafted and one of a kind.
In late August, the space agency held a class in Tokyo's Akihabara district to train about 20 technicians in the technique of operating soldering irons, which seems easy but requires skill.
The knowledge that an error on their part in making rocket or satellite parts could lead to an accident made those taking the course tense.
Fujiya Matsuda, 73, a former NEC Corp. technician who in the past was named a modern-day master of soldering, was among the teachers.
The teachers praised one man for the skillful way he carried out his work, but they were critical of those who failed to properly handle the soldering irons, saying the parts they soldered could hardly be used in space."
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