JAXA Astronaut Activity Report

Astronaut Noguchi Returns from the ISS Expedition Mission

Astronaut Noguchi (center) being greeted with a bouquet at Karaganda airport, Kazakhstan, and Astronaut Wakata (right) accompanying Noguchi (Photo credit: FSA)

Noguchi, Kotov, and Creamer (from the left) at a traditional astronaut return ceremony in Star City (Photo credit: FSA)

Astronaut Noguchi, who has been serving as an Expedition 22/23 mission crew member onboard the International Space Station (ISS) since December 2009, successfully completed his long-duration mission onboard the ISS and returned to the Earth, along with his mission colleagues, Cosmonaut Oleg Kotov and NASA Astronaut T. J. Creamer, aboard the Soyuz TMA-17 (21S) reentry capsule on June 2, 2010.

Astronaut Wakata had flown to the expected landing site in Kazakhstan prior to the Soyuz landing. After joining Noguchi there, Wakata accompanied Noguchi back to NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), assisting and coordinating Noguchi’s post-flight activities as a liaison.

After returning to JSC, Noguchi actively participated in mission debriefing sessions (technical debriefing) and press conferences while undergoing his scheduled rehabilitation program and daily medical checkups.

In late June, Noguchi visited Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Russia with Kotov and Creamer to participate in a mission debriefing session regarding the Soyuz spacecraft operations. He also took part in a couple of homecoming events, including a welcome-home ceremony and a media conference. In the media conference, he related his experience with the ISS operations, saying; “There were a lot of things I did not realize until I actually stayed onboard the ISS. I would like to relate my experiences in space to my astronaut colleagues at JAXA for future reference.”

ISS Expedition Operations Training in Russia

Astronaut Furukawa (back) and Cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin (front) practicing operations of the Soyuz spacecraft using the Soyuz simulator. (Photo credit: JAXA/GCTC)

Astronaut Furukawa, assigned as an Expedition 28/29 crew member, and Astronaut Hoshide, assigned as an Expedition 32/33 crew member, participated in operation training on the Soyuz spacecraft and the ISS’s Russian modules at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC).

Astronaut Furukawa, who will serve as a flight engineer of the Soyuz spacecraft, learned how to handle a fire emergency in the Soyuz reentry module (Descent Module) using the Soyuz simulator. He also attended a session on the new Soyuz Descent Module, a recently added session to the Soyuz operations training. In the session, he received an overview of the attitude control systems of the new Soyuz Descent Module.

Astronaut Hoshide inside the mockup of the ISS Russian module. (Photo credit: JAXA/GCTC)

Meanwhile, Astronaut Hoshide attended lectures on the power and electrical system, the onboard computers, and the communication systems in the Russian segment of the ISS. He also joined operation training using the mockup of the Russian modules. This was Hoshide’s first training in Russia since the official announcement of his assignment to Expedition 32/33 and his first training in Russia in six years.

Astronaut Candidate Training

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

Their training this month mainly focused on ISS systems, robotic arm operations, and Extravehicular Activity (EVA).

Astronaut candidate Yui simulating EVA activities in the NBL pool (Photo credit: JAXA/NASA)

Astronaut candidate Yui simulated EVA tasks using the pool of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC), as a part of an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) fit check.

Astronaut candidate Onishi participated in emergency training using the ISS mockup which simulated critical situations aboard the ISS modules, such as fire, sudden depressurization, and anomaliesof the station’s Electrical Power System (EPS).. During the training, he reviewed the emergency procedures and storage locations of emergency equipment and tools. Onishi successfully completed the ISS portion of the Astronaut Candidate (ASCAN) training program in June 2010.

Astronaut candidate Kanai attended lectures and training on operational procedures of the ISS systems. He gained further insight into the ISS systems.

In addition, the three astronaut candidates have been continuing their flight training using T-38 trainer as well as continuing their language lessons.

Astronaut candidates pausing for an assembly photo at KSC (massive object seen in the upper third of the photo is the bottom of the space shuttle Atlantis being processed in the OPF) (Photo credit: JAXA/NASA/Kim Shiflett)

Between training sessions, Yui, Onishi and Kanai visited NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Stennis Space Center (SSC), and Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), along with the other ASCAN trainees as a part of their NASA facility on-site orientation.

Astronaut candidate Onishi (front) attending a geography field seminar (Photo credit: JAXA/NASA)

At KSC, the astronaut candidates looked around the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), and the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). They saw the rocket engine test facilities at SSC, and the space shuttle’s External Tank (ET) in the assembly process at MAF. During the on-site orientation tour, they actually saw the worksite and workforce supporting NASA’s human space flight program, and experienced the team’s commitment to the program.

Yui and Onishi participated in a geography field seminar held in New Mexico to learn the basics of the earth observation science. They learned more about geography through faulting observations, gravity survey of geographic layers, and rock analysis.

STS-131 Public Homecoming Event

The STS-131 mission crew members on the stage during a homecoming pubic event in Japan (Photo credit: JAXA)

Following her homecoming in May, Astronaut Yamazaki once again returned to Japan to participate in a public homecoming event at the Tokyo Melpark Hall (in Tokyo) along with the other STS-131 mission crew members.

During the event, a video was shown while Yamazaki explained the activities performed by the STS-131 crew members throughout the mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery..

Yamazaki and her fellow crew members answered many questions from the audience during Q&A session.

A ceremony to award the prize winners of the Kibo Haiku Poem Contest took place after the Q&A session. Ten haiku poems that won “Kibo Special Award” were introduced and their authors were awarded.

At the end of the public event, the STS-131 mission crew members held a panel discussion titled “The ISS as Portrayed by the STS-131 Crew.” The main focus of the discussion was on the significance of the ISS program, what has been gainedfrom the ISS program, and future ISS utilization.