Star City – cosmonauts’ final stop before liftoff

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Published: 26 November, 2009, 10:24
Edited: 26 November, 2009, 17:44

(L-R) Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi (AFP Photo / Getty Images)

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The main and back-up crews took their final pre-flight tests in Moscow region’s Star City. The examination tests the spacemen’s level of preparedness for a flight to the International Space Station (ISS).

The three-stage Soyuz-FG rocket that carries the Soyuz-TMA space shuttle is scheduled to launch from a space center in Kazakhstan on December 21.

The main crew includes Oleg Kotov, Soichi Noguchi and Timothy Creamer – Russian, Japanese and US citizens respectively. The back-up crew comprises Russia’s Anton Shkaplerov, Japan’s Satoshi Furukawa and Douglas H. Wheelock of the US. They are ready to replace the main crew if the need arises.

The examination for the main crew is first carried out in a ground simulator of the ISS, while the back-up crew take their tests in a Soyuz spacecraft simulator, RIA Novosti news agency reports. The crews swap testing stations at the end of the day.

Testing is rigorous, reports RT Correspondent Sean Thomas. Astronauts are asked to pull cards that describe real-life scenarios and present questions intended to check the crews’ level knowledge of both the Soyuz and the ISS. The results of the examination will show whether each crew member is adept enough to board the December flight.

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