The Japanese space VLBI mission after VSOP Original Research Article

The working group for next Japanese space VLBI science mission was formed at ISAS in May 1997. Even though the mission profile is not concrete yet, a strawman model is presented here together with strategic thoughts. A 10 m class antenna with cryogenically cooled Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs) with 5, 22 and 43 GHz observing bands and a better orbit for imaging, together with a 1 Gbps data transmission rate for much increased science is the model. A launch before 2007 is envisaged.