The development of the space industry in the Asian and Pacific Rim
region provides the context for this book. The two major countries
hoping for leadership in the area (apart from China) are Japan and
India, both of whom have significant launcher capabilities.
There is a general introductory chapter which places the space
programmes of the region in the comparative context of the other
space-faring nations of the world. The author reviews the main space
programmes of Japan and India in turn, concentrating on their origins,
the development of launcher and space facilities, scientific and
engineering programmes, and future prospects.
The book concludes with a chapter comparing how similarly/differently
Japan and India are developing their space programmes, how they are
likely to proceed in the future, and what impact the programmes have had
in their own region and what they have contributed so far to global
space research.