Japanese astronauts conduct training in Russia

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 20, 2003

Japanese astronauts conduct training in Russia

Three Japanese astronauts are training in Russia to prepare for a long stay aboard an international space station (ISS) in the future.

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Three Japanese astronauts are training in Russia to prepare for a long stay aboard an international space station (ISS) in the future.

According to Kyodo News on Thursday, the three are at the legendary Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City to learn how to operate the Soyuz spacecraft, which transports crews and cargo to and from the ISS.

In the future, they will stay on board the ISS for an extended period and conduct space tests by utilizing the Japanese experimental "Kibo" (Hope) research module.

They completed the first three months of training in September and will undergo the second phase next spring. When they finish, they will be qualified flight engineers capable of operating the Soyuz.

Their objective is to enhance their skills as astronauts and increase their chances to get a spot on space flights, the report said, adding that all the three astronauts have no space shuttle experience and their future flight plans are unknown.

Shuichiro Yamanouchi, director of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, took a realistic view by saying that "for the present, the era of sending only select astronauts to space will continue."

But Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mori made an appeal for boosting manned space flight activities.

"At some future time, many people will travel to space," he said. "We are in a stage at present to create the foundation for such travel."

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