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VALE MINORU ODA

On March 1, at 15:25, Professor Minoru Oda passed away, at the age of 78. Professor Oda is well known as the initiator of the X-ray astronomy group in Japan which launched the TENMA, HAKUCHO, GINGA and ASCA satellites. As Director of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in the 1980s, Prof. Oda not only oversaw the successful growth of the X-ray group, but was also an enthusiastic supporter of the plans to launch a Space VLBI satellite. It was thus entirely appropriate that Prof. Oda was present when HALCA was finally launched in 1997. As described in VSOP news no. 81, Prof. Oda also ensured news of the VSOP project's successes reached the highest levels of Japanese society, inviting the VSOP Project Scientist to accompany him to dinner with the Emperor, Empress and Princess at the Imperial Palace in 1998. (Prof. Oda also introduced the VSOP Project Scientist to the Pope when the Inter-Agency Consultative Group was invited to the Vatican in 1986!)

Prof. Oda made many contributions to X-ray astronomy, in particular the study of X-ray binaries, but he also worked to promote space science generally, and articles he wrote and co-authored ("Japan's Blossoming Space Science", "What do we learn from space? Space Science in Japan", "How the space astronomy has broadened the horizon of astronomy", "Humanity or Robotics in Space", "Sharing Astronomical Costs") were published in journals ranging from Sky and Telescope and Physics Today to Nature. Prof. Oda enjoyed drawing, producing home-made cards with his botanical drawings, and he managed to combine his interests in a 1992 conference contribution entitled "A cartoonist's view of the neutron star".

It is less well-known that Prof. Oda started his research career in the dawn of radioastronomy. He built a solar radiotelescope at Osaka University, and developed plans for a five-by-five interferometric array to be located on the rooftop of the Physics Department, which however were not realized due to lack of funding. He then moved up the electromagnetic spectrum to the X-ray range, joining again at the dawn of X-ray astronomy. As it was, Prof. Oda's passing happened to coincide with the last KSC commanding pass of the ASCA satellite before it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. But whereas ASCA's deteriorating orbit was known well in advance, Prof. Oda's death came as a unexpected shock to his colleagues.

Prof. Oda was well-known for his openness, enthusiasm and vigor and he will be remembered for these as well as his scientific leadership. The funeral ceremony will be held on Monday, March 5th, at St. Ignatius Church in Tokyo. Prof. Oda is survived by his wife and children, and on behalf of the VSOP team, we extend them our deepest condolences.

                Editors: Phil Edwards and Hirax Hirabayashi