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ISS Astronauts Activity Report, September 2001

Naoko Sumino certified as an ASTRONAUT!!
Naoko Sumino was officially certified as an astronaut to work on board the International Space Station in a ceremony held at NASDA headquarters on September 26, 2001.
This is NASDA's September training primary activity report for ISS astronauts Furukawa and Hoshide and an ASCAN Sumino.
Naoko Sumino certified as an ASTRONAUT!!
Astronaut Sumino receiving the certificate. Astronauts Furukawa, Hoshide and Sumino.
Certification ceremony Press conference held at NASDA headquarters.
In February 1999, Sumino was selected as one of the astronaut candidates (ASCANs) to work on board the International Space Station and has been receiving basic training ever since, with the Tsukuba Space Center as her activity base. By September 2001, she completed all the planned basic training courses and received a training certificate on September 19. She was officially certified as an astronaut to work on board the International Space Station in a ceremony held at NASDA headquarters on September 26, 2001.

After the certification ceremony, a press conference was held in which she stated, "We can see no national boarders from space. Watching the Earth with wide eyed wonder, I hope to transfer the spirit of peace to people throughout the world."

Sumino is the third person to finish the basic training that NASDA planned and conducted, and to be certified by NASDA as an ISS astronaut, following astronauts Furukawa and Hoshide. According to the international agreement, the ASCAN's organization is responsible for his/her basic training, and his/her certification of an ISS astronauts. NASDA has defined the following requirements for the certification of an ISS astronaut; an ASCAN must finish the basic training courses, have sufficient technical knowledge on the Space Shuttle and the ISS, and satisfy medical criteria for ISS astronauts. Sumino has fulfilled all of these requirements. Astronaut Sumino will receive advanced training* and will participate in the development of Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module of the ISS.

*Advanced training: Astronaut training following the basic training to enhance understanding of the ISS systems and skills for operations. Approximately a year long in total, planned to be conducted in participating countries' facilities.


Survival Training for ASCAN Sumino in Russia
ASCAN (former) Sumino received water survival training from September 2, 2001 to Sep. 11 at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center(GCTC) in Russia and on the Black Sea.
The water survival training included escape from the return capsule to the water surface, how to use the survival kit including emergency life support equipment, and parachute splashdown.
During the training conducted on the Black Sea, Sumino, a Russian astronaut and a Belgium astronaut formed a team. First, they conducted training rehearsal on the deck of the mother ship and trained using emergency smoke signals and flare signals.
Next, wearing a pressurized suit used for launch and entry, the team climbed into the Soyuz return capsule. The return capsule was then slowly lowered to the water using a crane. Simulating an emergency such as fire or water leak, she escaped to the water in a quick action wearing the pressurized suit and using a floatation device.

Next, simulating normal egress from the capsule on water, she changed from her pressurized suit to a dry suit with cold weather clothing underneath while inside the capsule, and exited to the water surface.
The capsule was swung intentionally simulating rough water. She also received training in helicopter rescue from the water.
Survival kit Handling Training

Training Rehearsal

Escaping from the Return Capsule to Water

Simulating rescue by a helicopter
During parachute training, she first received a lecture on the theory of the parachute harness and parachuting procedures. In the hands-on training, she was suspended from a crane mounted on the ceiling of the facility and learned splashdown procedures. Using the Hydrolaboratory (a facility similar to the Weightless Environment Test Facility in Tsukuba Space Center), she trained several parachute splashdowns. She repeated this training several times to learn how to remove the parachute harness quickly.
Parachute Splashdown Training


Kibo Pressurized Module Shipment Ceremony
On September 14, 2001, a shipment ceremony for the Pressurized Module of Kibo was held at the Tobishima Plant of Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Astronauts Furukawa and Hoshide participated in the ceremony together with JEM Project Manager Kuniaki Shiraki.
JEM Project Manager Kuniaki Shiraki Astronauts Furukawa and Hoshide Pressurized Module and the staff who worked on it


Image Processing Unit (IPU) for Kibo's Multiuser Experiment Facilities being presented to the press at Tsukuba Space Center.

Astronaut Furukawa operating the Image Processing Unit
Astronaut Furukawa demonstrated how to use the Image Processing Unit (IPU) for Kibo's Multiuser Experiment Facilities during its presentation to the press at Tsukuba Space center on September 14, 2001. The IPU has six VCRs, capable of compressing a maximum of five channels of image data at a time and transmitting them to the ground.



Russian cosmonaut Alexander Lazutkin visits Tsukuba Space Center
Russian cosmonaut Alexander Lazutkin, who visited Japan to give lectures to Japanese Youth, visited the Tsukuba Space Center on September 7, 2001. Astronaut Furukawa escorted and showed him to the Weightless Environment Test Facility and the Astronaut Training Facility. Furukawa also participated in a free discussion. Talking with Mr. Lazutkin, who has stayed for a long periods in space, must have been very useful to astronaut Furukawa who will stay in space for a long period of time in the near future.

Astronaut Furukawa (left), Astronaut Mohri (center), Cosmonaut Alexander Lazutkin (right) Astronaut Furukawa explaining training using the Weightless Environment Test Facility Free discussion in the conference room Kibo


"Fureai Space Festival 2001"
Astronaut Hoshide participated in the Space Memorial Day event "Fureai Space Festival 2001" that took place in Ohsaka EXPO Hall on September 15.
The event was composed of three parts, "Let's start out to Space," "What's Space?," and "Let's meet the future Space."

Astronaut Hoshide participated in the third part together with Professor Matogawa from the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and Mr. Osamu Ishiwata, the author of the comic "Passport Blue." They talked about astronaut Noguchi's mission scheduled for next year and about the International Space Station.

In the event hall From the right Mr. Ishiwata, astronaut Hoshide, professor Matogawa Astronaut Hoshide


The Japanese ISS astronauts' October activity report will be issued in the middle of November.


Last Updated: November 5, 2001

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