JAXA Astronaut Activity Report, May 2008:JAXA Astronaut Activity Report - JAXA´s Astronaut

JAXA Astronaut Activity Report, May 2008

Last Updated: July 8, 2008

This is JAXA's Japanese astronaut primary activity report for May 2008. For more information about the activity of astronaut Akihiko Hoshide who was assigned to the second of the three Kibo designated assembly missions, please log on to 1J (STS-124) site.

ISS Expedition Operations Training in Russia

Astronaut Furukawa (right) receiving instructions on the Soyuz attitude control system（©JAXA/GCTC）

Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa participated in a training session for the Soyuz TMA spacecraft at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Russia, following the previous training held at GCTC in April. Astronaut Furukawa was assigned as a backup crew member for astronaut Soichi Noguchi who will be a member of the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 20.

Astronaut Furukawa learned about the Soyuz propulsion system, life support system, and attitude control system through lectures and training using simulators.


	The training for the ISS Expedition 20 backup crew members has started. I thank everyone who is supporting me. I will exert every possible effort in the training, and I would appreciate your continued support. I am training at GCTC for the first time in four years. I found that the Soyuz has enhanced its reliability with various improvements seen in every detail. My respect for Russia's space technology and Russian engineers has increased much more than ever.

Training for the ISS Expedition 18

Astronauts Wakata (right) and Noguchi (left) during water survival training donning their orange flight suits（Image credit: NASA）

Astronauts Koichi Wakata and Noguchi participated in water survival training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) in NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC).

The purpose of this training is to familiarize astronauts with the evacuation procedures and how to use the survival kits in the Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES; orange flight suit) in case of emergencies during the launch and landing of the space shuttle.

Astronaut Wakata (front) during the training（Image credit: NASA）

Astronaut Wakata also participated in the training session to respond to emergencies including fire and rapid air depressurization on board the ISS, using the ISS mockup in NASA JSC, with NASA Astronauts Michael Fincke and Sandra Magnus and Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov.

Astronaut Wakata in the water pool at NBL（Image credit: NASA）

Astronaut Wakata along with astronauts Fincke and Magnus also participated in the training session for the Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). They received training for the possible EVAs during their expedition mission, including work related to the Kibo Japanese experiment module, maintenance work such as removal and replacement of ISS equipment, and repair of the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ).

STS-123 (1J/A) Mission General Debriefing

STS-123 (1J/A) crew members during the debriefing in TKSC

Astronaut Takao Doi retuned to Japan and participated in the mission general debriefings held in Tokyo, Tsukuba Space Center (TKSC) and Kagoshima with other STS-123 (1J/A) crew members.

In the debriefings, Astronaut Doi talked about his tasks accomplished during the mission and his experience on orbit, showing video movies and photographs. The audience asked him many questions.