Himemi Orihara 

She’d never expected that the onii-chan next door would be an astronaut?!

Once upon a time, he served as the person that she admired like none other…but before she could deliver her feelings to him, he departed on his journey.

Even though every once in a while she could catch a glimpse of his figure in the communications relay from outer space, in the end, he still resides thousands of kilometers beyond the atmosphere. It was impossible to have a straightforward talk with him.

Every night, she would look towards the sky with her telescope, searching for wherever the onii-chan who was always in her thoughts might be. Just what kind of place was outer space, anyways? And how would one be able to go there? Jobs related to space…what could they be like?

“I want to see onii-chan in person.”

With those kinds of thoughts in her heart, she set off on her mission.

In the slightly-distant future, at a certain place, lived a little girl and an older boy next door. Ever since they were young, they’d had a great relationship, and the girl always admired the boy. But one day, the boy went to some unknown place, leaving the girl alone and heartbroken.

—Why didn’t he take me with him?

Following that, some more time passed.

The older boy appeared on television, saying, “Good morning! Himemi!”, waving at the girl through the screen. The girl was both surprised and delighted, gazing towards the sky where the older boy now was, a faraway land beyond the sky itself. But it was just too far, and she couldn’t see a thing. What did she have to do in order to be able to see him?

—Oh, right. If I also go there, I’ll be able to see him, right?

Just like that, the girl set her goal in mind.

Since he departed, onii-chan never returned to the house next door again. Even if it’s only for a brief moment, I really want to see him again. 

It’s been ten years since, and I’m seventeen years old now. Onii-chan has become a celebrity while he’s an astronaut. Now, as preparation for his deployment as a passenger of the ISS, he’s undergoing training for around two years.

He’s so cool. Onii-chan is going to space again. I heard the ISS’ passengers are really busy on the ground, too. They’ve got to speak with the nations who are part of the space station project, and in order to work there, they must undergo education and partake in tests of skill. Not only that, but they also need to maintain communication with the people currently up in space. Serving as an inseparable cohort, they are as close to each other as family members, sharing their research and results with one another.

But I’m not as tall and strong as onii-chan, and I’m not good at English either. I’m kind of shy, too. Mm— looks like space is still pretty far away for me.

Well, it’s not like I only got that thought in my head because the topic of Tanabata came up. Actually, I’ve always wanted to see onii-chan. But since it’s not possible, I can only gaze up at the sky every day. 

The truth is, the time for onii-chan to depart for space was moved forward by quite a bit, since there was a deficiency of the passengers for the manned rocket that heads to the ISS twice a year. Thus, the higher-ups canceled the plan for onii-chan to join the next team, and had him go to help with the ISS as temporary support. This time, his job is to pilot a spacecraft to pick up his companions currently in space, and help them safely reach the ground.

Carrying my telescope with me, I headed to a mountain as dark as night, and tried to observe onii-chan in the sky through its view. If all goes well, maybe I’ll be able to see the very moment where the ISS connects with onii-chan’s ship! Ah! Is that it?

I guess the universe is just too vast. I clearly know his location, but there’s still all sorts of unrelated satellites, comets, and such interrupting my view. If only the ISS had some kind of symbol that was easier to make out…otherwise, then even the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl who are supposed to meet will get lost!

Once again, onii-chan began his preparations to head into space. Prior to their departure, an astronaut’s itinerary is top secret, but onii-chan left behind a video memo that was aired on television to “everyone in Japan.” On TV, onii-chan was speaking ceaselessly about the new experiments that would take place aboard the space station.

Mhm…but it’s still pretty lonely. This time, he didn’t even say anything along the lines of “I’m leaving now, Himemi”...even though that’s what he did back then when I was in preschool. Onii-chan, have you already forgotten about me… Well, it’s been too long since we saw each other. I suppose it’s only natural for that to happen.

The ISS runs on a track that lies 400km above the ground. It’s much closer to us than the moon, as well as those static man-made satellites, but I still can’t reach there at all. After all, I haven’t grown by a single inch, even though I tried so hard and got such great results.

If I could jump onto the surface of the moon in just a single bound, maybe I’ll be able to hold hands with onii-chan… Looks like I need to train my body more too.

One day, a letter from the aviation department was delivered to Himemi’s house.

“I heard that Himemi’s liked all sorts of stories about space since she was young, so me and my coworkers sent this gift for you.”

It’s from onii-chan! I’m so surprised! Did he mail it off when he was still on land?

Inside the package, aside from many pictures and facts about outer space, there’s also a super cute ring. It’s just like the kind of tech-like ring that me and onii-chan saw in foreign sci-fi films on TV when we were little.

“It's just a cheap toy ring. I’m sorry, Himemi.”

No need to be sorry, onii-chan! I’ll treasure it for the rest of my life!

I placed the glittering ring onto the middle finger of my left hand, and turned on the wireless receiver I pieced together from scraps borrowed from school, and started to pray. Because they need to communicate with charity organizations on Earth, the ISS established wireless communications. Although it’s not always open to conversation, if my luck is just right, then maybe I’ll be able to encounter onii-chan…

Please, let me connect with him! I want to thank him personally!

The people who work in space use English as their universal language. I’d already managed to become skilled in physics calculations, yet English was still difficult for me, so I spent a great deal of effort on learning. Whether to read space-related topics, or use the wireless line, knowing English is an important skill to have, so I must work hard.

At this time, I became a translator for exchange students… Although there are people from all sorts of different countries at this school, as long as you know English, you can generally communicate with them all. Maybe by using English to talk with all kinds of different people, it’ll cure this known flaw of mine.

One day, I was called up by the teacher. I never thought that I’d be chosen by the school to study at a place that’s only a step away from space! Among countless other candidates, I stood out in the crowd. And the biggest reason for that is because I was the smallest among them all. I never thought there’d come a day where I was grateful for being so short and light.

The place I will depart to is the Kármán line, located in the high skies 100 kilometers above sea level. Any further up, and we’ll be in outer space. And so, the glider I ride in shall fly to that very boundary.

Before my departure, I undertook an adaptation test for low-gravity environments. I don’t even remember how many times I rode in the capsule on the free-fall tower.

The capsule is constructed from underground passageways, and is around 2 kilometers tall. When free-falling within, you’ll experience around ten seconds of zero-gravity— well, to be exact, it’s more of just a low-gravity state. And during this time, the people inside will float up like a balloon. Haha, it sure is fun! I wish I could float like this forever! Is onii-chan just like this in space too? Well, it looks like everyone else here is getting motion sick. They don’t look too good…but nothing’s happened with me. Weird.

Because there were no issues found with me during the test, I quickly arrived at the moment of my real departure. In this voyage, I would ride on a special flying vehicle that would reach great heights, before deploying a small glider to slowly land back on the ground. The real thing felt much smoother than the zero-gravity test, and much more comforting as well. 

In the distant skies where not even a weather balloon could reach, we rode on our gliders, floating through the air where we could even see the northern lights. After getting the okay, I released my safety belt, floating to the glider’s window and waving my hands towards the darkness of space.

Onii-chan on the ISS! I’m right here, right now! I’ve gotten even closer to you now! Even though there’s still about 300 kilometers left! Please, notice me!

After I successfully reached the point closest to space, things essentially ended there. The wealthy sponsor who originally invited us students to space was no longer in this world. Though the ISS continued to fly along its slanted path, it was beginning to grow old and rickety, and supposedly would be changed for a newer generation model soon. The development of new space-related technology requires lots of funding too, so a lot of countries have already reduced their expected budgets...

By skipping grades, I was able to enter the research department of university early, and worked to create a small artificial satellite nicknamed the “CubeSat,” while learning all sorts of natural science information at the same time. From biology, to Earth, to the meteors and bodies in space…I was filled with curiosity about all things in this universe. Both in thinking and in memory, I wanted to know more and more. And no matter how much time passed, this passion would never fade away. 

Hm…but I still want to do some kind of work that’s physically closer to space. What should I do, onii-chan?

At this time, someone sent a flyer to me. It was a recruitment offer from JAXA.

JAXA began a new round of astronaut recruitment. In summary, these are their requirements:

• Received an undergraduate degree at minimum, recommended to have completed a PhD.

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in natural science related technical fields.

• Skilled English knowledge, including the utilization of technical terminology.

• Stamina, mental and adaptive ability suited to remaining in space environments for long periods of time.

Wow, I completely lost all confidence the moment I saw that. I can’t believe onii-chan was able to pass through so many challenges…

Back to the topic. This is way too competitive. There must be at least a thousand people already vying for the position. Who’s the one who said this is easier than competing to become an idol? Is that what the problem really is here?

Even my friend told me, “Himemi, why don’t you give it a try? Maybe you’ll finally be able to see your onii-chan!” That friend knows about the ring on my hand and its relationship to onii-chan, too.

Hmmmm… Well, if that’s what they’re saying, then might as well try…

It’s been ten years since that round of JAXA recruitment. Right now, with the help of the workers, I’m getting the model for my seat made. The old model of return ship doesn’t have general-use seating, so all its passengers need to have custom ones made based on their measurements in order to protect themselves from the intense G-forces and heat. I know it’s necessary to do such a thing…but needing to be naked and covered in plaster to be made into a model is still too embarrassing!

After that, I became an astronaut, and departed towards space.

They say that the site where the next-generation ISS will be built needs to be cleaned of trash, so right now there are many astronauts and robots working there. And they’re going to be using those rotary units that don’t stop spinning to perform experiments on artificial gravity, too. I’m really looking forward to it.

Since there’s so many people heading to space now, the problems of how to feed everyone, how to treat people’s health… Well, there’s all kinds of new things to face now. But with challenge comes opportunity, and as long as we keep up the hard work, perhaps even ordinary people with no relevant experience will one day be able to live in this vast sea of stars.

“Isn’t that right, onii-chan?”

I asked him as I gazed towards the back of the moon.

Throughout the text Himemi calls the astronaut "onii-chan"-- this means "older brother" in Japanese, but it's also an honorific title for an elder boy or man that the speaker respects and familiarizes. Himemi uses it in the latter way. The decision to keep this term un-localized was made since she's Japanese, and it's best left untranslated to convey the proper meaning.

Other terms of note, in order of story appearance:

• Tanabata (七夕), also known as the Star Festival, is a summer festival holiday in Japan.

• The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (織姫と彦星, Orihime and Hikoboshi) are Chinese mythological characters from a romance folk tale. As per their Wikipedia article:

"The story tells of the romance between Zhinü the weaver girl, symbolized by the star Vega, and Niulang the cowherd, symbolized by the star Altair. Despite their love for each other, their romance was forbidden, and thus they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river (symbolizing the Milky Way). Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for a single day."

Their story is the origin of the Tanabata festival.

• The Kármán line is a widely accepted definition for the edge of space.

• A CubeSat (term used "キューブサット") is a small satellite. Their usual functions are for small-scale operations, such as Earth observation or amateur radio.
  (You will also recognize this name from the music producer cubesato, who produced Ash (ASH:3-013)'s character song--another character with a space theme!)

• JAXA stands for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.