National News Soyuz spaceship ferries Furukawa toward ISS

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A Soyuz spacecraft carrying three astronauts from Japan, Russia and the United States lifted off from Kazakhstan early June 8 bound for the International Space Station (ISS) and successfully entered orbit.

The spacecraft was scheduled to connect with the ISS on June 10. It is crewed by Satoshi Furukawa, Sergey Volkov and Michael Fossum and is expected to return to Earth in mid-November.

Furukawa, a 47-year-old flight engineer on his first space mission, is expected to make use of his knowledge and experience as a surgeon when he engages in remote diagnosis and medical data management during his stay. He is the third Japanese to spend an extended period of time at the space station.

Also on his task list at the ISS are zero-gravity experiments, including making green tea, trying out suminagashi Japanese ink marbling and growing cucumbers.

"The 12 years since training began have been a very long time, but I am thrilled right now," Furukawa said with a smile ahead of the launch. (Kyodo News, AP)

古川さん搭乗のソユーズ。打ち上げ成功

古川聡さんが搭乗するロシアの宇宙船「ソユーズ」が6月8日、国際宇宙ステーションへ向けて打ち上げられた。

Shukan ST: June 17, 2011

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