JAXA Astronaut Activity Report

Activities of JAXA Astronauts during the STS-131 Mission

Discovery's predawn liftoff: Aboard Discovery are Astronaut Yamazaki and her six crew mates (Photo Credit: NASA)

During the STS-131 mission, on which JAXA Astronaut Yamazaki flew as a crew member, other JAXA astronauts supported the mission in many different ways.

Astronaut Wakata held media briefings at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) for Japanese news media to outline Yamazaki's main tasks during the mission. He provided information on the robotic arm operations Yamazaki performed aboard the ISS, referring to the significance of berthing the Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) to the ISS, which was one of the major objectives of Discovery's logistics mission. He also talked about Yamazaki's other tasks, elaborating on joint tasks that Yamazaki and Astronaut Noguchi performed in tandem while Discovery was docked at the ISS.

During the STS-131 mission's spacewalks, the crew members successfully replaced the Ammonia Tank Assembly (ATA) on the station's S1 truss. However, after replacing the old ATA with a new one, a valve of the Nitrogen Tank Assembly (NTA), which is used to pressurize the ATA, did not open as expected. To fix this unexpected glitch, ground teams and mission planners at the MCC-H had to consider and evaluate the possibility of adding a fourth spacewalk (EVA#4) to replace the NTA. While a draft of this unscheduled EVA was being prepared, Astronaut Furukawa took part in verifications of NTA replacement techniques/procedures, which were conducted using the pool at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at JSC, along with NASA Astronaut Michael Fossum, a spacewalk veteran who experienced performing NTA replacement during his previous mission. At the NBL, Furukawa and Fossum tested some procedures and gave their comments and opinions from the position of EVA crew for spacewalk planners to prepare the most efficient procedure for the possible NTA replacement.

Astronaut Hoshide, a CAPCOM for the STS-131 mission, at his console in the MCC-H during the STS-131 mission (Photo Credit: JAXA/NASA)

JAXA Astronaut Hoshide served as a CAPCOM (Capsule Communicator) for the STS-131 mission. Throughout the mission, he supported Yamazaki's in-flight activities and those of the other STS-131 crew members from the Mission Control Center-Houston (MCC-H) as a flight controller.

	"JAXA astronauts played important roles during the STS-131 mission both on orbit and on the ground. On orbit, Yamazaki operated both the shuttle's and the station's robotic arms to support the mission's primary objectives, and orchestrated cargo transfer activities between the space shuttle and the ISS as the loadmaster of the mission. Noguchi, as an ISS Expedition crew member, helped with ISS assembly operations and the cargo transfer. On the ground, Hoshide worked as a shuttle CAPCOM at the MCC-H and Furukawa participated in development of an unscheduled spacewalk procedure. Every JAXA astronaut contributed to the mission's success, and many people have witnessed the Japanese astronauts' outstanding performances. I believe that this mission visibly demonstrated the Japanese astronaut's active involvement in the ISS Program."

Astronaut Candidate Training

Astronaut candidates Yui, Onishi, and Kanai continue their Astronaut Candidate (ASCAN) Training in the United States.

Their training in March and April this year focused on ISS operations. Their training schedule this month also included flight training using a T-38 Jet Trainer and Russian language lessons.

During the training sessions related to ISS operations, they learned the station's main systems, such as the Electrical Power System (EPS); the Communication system and the Command Data Handling (C&DH) system, which transfer data/vide/audio data between the ground and the ISS; the Thermal Control System (TCS), which maintains the station's onboard equipment within appropriate/required temperatures; and the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), which maintains the station's onboard environment within optimal living and working conditions for the crew. Furthermore, they deepened their understanding of the ISS by learning about science racks and facilities aboard the ISS, as well as the station's structures/mechanisms, operation modes, attitude/position controls, onboard exercise tools, and inventory management system.

Astronaut candidates Onishi, Yui, and Kanai (from the left) posing for a photo during a press briefing (Photo Credit: JAXA/NASA)

Each trainee has his or her own schedule for ISS mission-specific training, such as Extravehicular Activity (EVA) training and robotic arm operations training. Onishi, Yui, and Kanai are conducting their training according to their respective schedules while attending lectures on geology, astronomy, and space medicine that investigates the effects of the space environment on the human body.

During the STS-131 mission, the three astronaut candidates took time out from their busy training schedules to visit NASA's JSC. They held a press briefing for Japanese news media gathered at JSC to brief them on their status and progress in ASCAN training.

Science and Technology Week 2010: TKSC Open Day

Astronaut Furukawa giving a lecture via videoconference (Photo Credit: JAXA)

Astronaut Furukawa participated from Houston in Tsukuba Space Center's Open Day event via videoconference and gave a lecture titled "ISS Expedition Mission and Mission-specific Training" to the audience gathered at JAXA's Tsukuba Space Center (TKSC).

Furukawa talked about tasks and activities that the expedition crew members perform daily or regularly onboard the ISS. He also discussed his training in Russia to acquire qualification to fly aboard the Soyuz spacecraft and mentioned the current status of science experiments onboard the ISS and their expected results.

Furukawa received many questions during the Q&A session of the lecture, such as "What do you want to do when you go to space?" and "What gave you the confidence to pursue a career as an astronaut?" When Furukawa received a question about the importance of exercise in space, he said: "If you would like to come back to the Earth in good shape, you have to do adequate exercise while you stay in space because human bones and muscles weaken in microgravity." He continued, in good humor, saying: "If you live in space forever, then you do not need to keep your muscle strength. It may turn out to be another human evolution."