Q. Did any problems occur during astronaut Wakata's mission? Did you learn anything from it?
Launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-119) with astronaut Koichi Wakata aboard (Courtesy of NASA)
This didn't turn out to be a problem in the end, but before the launch, the planning became very difficult. The launch of space shuttle mission STS-119 (15A) to take astronaut Wakata to space was postponed for a month, but at that time the launch of mission STS-127 (2J/A) for his return trip was still scheduled for July, as originally planned. So it looked like his stay in space was going to be a month shorter than planned, and we had to figure out how to speed up our schedule so we could still complete our project. In the end, the launch of the return flight was also postponed, and we had to change course again.
Usually, for the launch of a space shuttle, we prepare a contingency plan in case there is a delay - that is, we decide how we are going to change our operations if the launch is postponed for up to a week. But it's quite hard to plan for a month-long delay. We struggled to shorten our schedule and adjust the plan by identifying operations that could be performed ahead of others. We also had to consider schedule changes for the ground-based operators.
When we make our plans, we prepare a list of additional operations we can do when other tasks are finished ahead of schedule. We call this a task list. After about a month on the ISS, Astronaut Wakata got used to life in space and was working very efficiently. Anytime we added a task to his list, he was able to complete it quickly, so he was constantly running out of tasks. We hadn't expected that the return would be postponed for a month, and we hadn't prepared an adequate task list, so astronaut Wakata would often call us and say, "If there is anything more to do, I'll do it." We didn't have anything more for him to do, and we felt we were falling behind NASA, who had a lot more new tasks for their people. From this experience, we learned how to use the limited time in orbit more efficiently with better contingency planning.
Q. How do you look back on the year that has passed since Kibo's Pressurized Module (PM) was attached?
Completed JEM Kibo (Courtesy of NASA)
One year ago, I was an operator in charge of plan adjustments and Kibo experiment operations, and was preparing for astronaut Wakata's long-duration mission. Then, last November, I became certified as a Flight Director, and continued as an operator while learning a great deal everyday from senior Flight Directors, operators, and experienced engineers. Subsequently, I was in charge of long-duration ISS Expeditions 19 and 20. I am very pleased to have been involved in these important operations: the first long-duration stay by a Japanese astronaut, the expansion of the crew from three to six, and the completion of Kibo. Because of the great work of the many people who are involved with Kibo, we have had a year in space without any major trouble.
Q. What are your long-term priorities while operating Kibo?
Astronauts and operators draw most of the attention during missions, but there are many more team members involved in the project, including engineers who developed the Kibo module and researchers who designed the experiments. For this reason, I think it's important to create an environment that fosters excellent teamwork by strengthening ties between personnel and sharing information. In addition, we regularly conduct trouble and accident drills, not only when the astronauts are on the ground, but also when they are in orbit. We try to be conscious of risk management to ensure the operation stays safe.
Q. What challenges lie ahead in future operations?
HTV before docking with the ISS (Courtesy of NASA)
After the completion of Kibo, the focus in the months ahead is running experiments and regular maintenance. To streamline the operation without reducing quality, operators need to widen their specialization by learning other roles. We need to increase the number of qualified flight directors and operators. It's also important for us to learn to cope with running a variety of Kibo-based experiments at once, in order to push forward in search of new frontiers.
Kibo hasn't yet required major maintenance, but the longer we operate it, the greater the possibility that components will malfunction and require attention. We are trained to handle trouble in its operating systems and experiment devices and have also prepared spare parts for important devices, but we must continue to be well prepared to deal with possible problems. In addition, we have realized the importance of communicating with the ISS to confirm the actual conditions in Kibo, so we would like to thoroughly utilize our communication tools, not only with Japanese astronauts, but also with astronauts from other countries who perform experiments in Kibo.
On September 18, 2009, the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) launched by the H-IIB rocket a week earlier docked with the ISS for the first time and successfully transferred supplies from each participating country. This is the dawn of a new era for Japanese space development, since the transportation of supplies is an indispensable part of continuing the operation of the ISS, the HTV is going to play a very important role. We would like to further improve our teamwork in order to use HTVs effectively in the future.
Q. How do you think Japanese space activities will develop as a result of the knowledge gained from the ISS?
There is no doubt that the technologies and expertise gained through Kibo are going to be the base for Japan's own manned space facility in the future. However, there are some technologies Japan lacks to maintain such a facility in space. For example, we currently depend on the United States and Russia for life-support and environment control systems, as well as medical equipment and exercise machines to manage the health of astronauts. On the other hand, we have a valuable opportunity to watch American and Russian operations on the ISS with our own eyes, so I think we can use that experience to make better equipment using advanced Japanese technology. Personally, I expect that during Kibo's lifespan, we will be testing technologies that the world has never seen before.
Q.What's your next goal?
Flight Director Takayoshi Nishikawa in the Kibo Mission Control Room. On the monitor screen behind him is the HTV docked with the ISS.
This December, astronaut Soichi Noguchi will begin his six-month stay on the ISS, so we are looking forward to performing new operations using the experience we gained from astronaut Wakata's mission. Next year, astronaut Naoko Yamazaki will take part in a space-shuttle transport mission to the ISS, and astronaut Satoshi Furukawa's is scheduled for a long-term stay. I was in charge of basic training for astronauts Yamazaki and Furukawa, so I would like to take part in operations with them while they are in space. I want to support them and lead these missions to success.
Associate Senior Engineer, Japanese Experiment Module Operations Project Team, JAXA's Human Space Systems and Utilization Mission Directorate
Mr. Nishikawa joined NASDA (now part of JAXA) in 1997, after graduating from the Graduate School of Human Sciences at Waseda University. He was assigned to basic training for ISS astronaut candidates, international coordination of the ISS project, and launch pad operations for the Japanese Experiment Module Operations and Development Project Team. In 2008, he was certified as a flight director for the JAXA Flight Control Team; starting April 2009, he was in charge of long-term Expeditions 19 and 20.
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