Mission specialist and T-38 flight training
There are four types of astronauts: Commander, Pilot, Mission Specialist, and Payload Specialist. On shuttle mission STS-92, Astronaut Koichi Wakata will serve as Mission Specialist 5. Astronauts must meet various requirements to maintain his or her mission specialist certification. T-38 flight training is one type of requirement. Flight training maintains and improves their comprehensive ability to accomplish their mission on orbit by training them in conditions similar to those on board the Space Shuttle or International Space Station.


T-38 Jet Trainer
The T-38 is a twin-engine jet trainer that has been used for a long time in the United Stated Air Force to train fighter pilots. More than a hundred hours a year of T-38 flight training is mandatory for mission specialists. Flight training is conducted with a pilot flying the jet trainer as a mission specialist in the rear seat communicates with air traffic ground controllers or performs navigation tasks.


T-38 for Training and Transportation Purposes
Mission specialist, Koich Wakata, who is being assigned and trained on a specific flight, flies on the T-38 jet trainer between NASA facilities to save time and to train himself. On July 12, Astronaut Wakata and other STS-92 crew members flew to Kennedy Space Center aboard the T-38 jet trainers to a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT).

The T-38 jet trainers are stationed at Ellington Field Airport, which is a short distance from Johnson Space Center. On that day, the STS-92 crew gathered at the Ellington Field Airport and checked the weather and flight route, and had briefings with the instructors. They then checked the airplanes carefully and took off for Kennedy Space Center, which is about a two and a half hour flight. Astronaut Wakata, who is very busy most of the time, uses the T-38 jet trainer to save time commuting between Texas and Florida.

Last Update : August 10, 2000