6 Concluding Remarks YOSHINO Taizoh The Communications Research Laboratory Wideband InterNetworking engineering test has continued to play an active role in the and Demonstration Satellite, or WINDS) and a development of Japan’s Engineering Test quasi-zenithal satellite. The ETS-VIII experi- Satellite series, and has contributed to the ments will thus be a cornerstone to the devel- establishment of a number of future satellite opment of the advanced satellite technologies. technologies. The Engineering Test Satellite This special issue presents an overall pic- VIII (ETV-VIII), scheduled for launch in FY ture of the satellite system, the ground-based 2004, will be used to conduct mobile multi- systems, and the plans for experiments using media communications experiments utilizing these systems with the assistance of various the potential of satellite communications. organizations and university researchers. This Moreover, basic experiments to establish is the first complete collection of descriptions satellite positioning technologies will be per- and reports relating to the ETS-VIII. I hope formed using an onboard atomic clock. that this issue will find an appreciative audi- The ETS-VIII is a large satellite to fulfill ence not only among the participants in the the requirements governing direct-link mobile basic and applied experiments using the ETS- communications between the satellite and VIII but also among all others interested in portable hand-held terminals. Each of the two this project. deployable antennas (one for transmission and The ETS-VIII has now entered its final the other for reception) measures nearly 19 m stages of development, thanks to the efforts of by 17 m, comparable in size to antennas numerous researchers and technological installed in ground-based base stations. experts affiliated with a range of organiza- Weighing approximately 3 tons in total in the tions: the Ministry of Public Management, initial stages of geostationary orbit, the ETS- Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications; VIII will be one of the largest geostationary the ASC (Advanced Space Communications satellites in space. Research Laboratory: terminated research These technologies are expected to facili- duties in Feb. 2001); the CRL (Communica- tate mobile communications by reducing the tions Research Laboratory); NTT (Nippon load in ground-based communication net- Telegraph and Telephone Corporation); JAXA works, and will significantly advance progress (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency); and a toward the ubiquitous communication era. number of associated universities. I would Moreover, the verified space technologies like to take this opportunity to extend our using the ETS-VIII will form the foundation thanks to all participants and to ask for their for the establishment of an ultra-high-speed continued cooperation in the future, so that we Internet-based communications satellite (the may yield significant achievements. YOSHINO Taizoh, Ph. D. Director, Kashima Space Research Center, Wireless Communications Divi- sion (present Mitsubishi Electric Cor- poration) Space Geodesy YOSHINO Taizoh 279 280 Journal of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology Vol.50 Nos.3/4 2003.