Yurika Nakano: Supporting Astronauts from the Ground

Currently, 15 countries are participating in the International Space Station (ISS) project. In addition to the two main nations, NASA and Russia, the formation includes ESA (European Space Agency), Canada, and Japan. Among them, the "Kibo" Japanese Experiment Module is the largest space laboratory on the ISS.

The ISS orbits at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers, and "Kibo" is roughly divided into five parts. There is the Pressurized Module where various experiments are conducted, and the Experiment Logistics Module for storing items. There is also an airlock for moving experimental equipment and releasing ultra-small satellites, as well as the Exposed Facility and a robotic arm that enable experiments in the vacuum of space. We, the JAXA flight controllers, monitor all of these 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and manage the experimental operations.

Yes, each country controls the modules they own from their respective control centers. Our control team works in eight-hour shifts at the JAXA Tsukuba Space Center.

The Flight Director is the leader who oversees all members on a shift. For example, if a malfunction occurs, the Flight Director is responsible for protecting human lives and equipment, and holds the final decision-making authority on whether to continue or stop an experiment if it is not progressing according to schedule.

There are 13 of us, and each person works about 10 shifts per month.

The 24-hour day is divided into three 8-hour shifts, each handled by a team of up to 15 people, consisting of one Flight Director and one person from each specialized team.

That's right. And every eight hours, the entire team rotates.

Actually, they aren't. In fields like air traffic control, teams are fixed, which has its own advantages. However, because our flight controllers have different shift scheduling patterns for each team, the combination of members is constantly changing.

So, I might be on the same team as someone today, but work with completely different people tomorrow. That makes building a team difficult in some ways, and it requires knowing the characteristics of each individual member.

Exactly. We work on Japan Standard Time, where 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM is the day shift, 4:00 PM to midnight is the evening shift, and midnight to 8:00 AM is the night shift. Since astronauts live on Greenwich Mean Time, they are sleeping during our day shift in Japan. However, while the astronauts are asleep, we are busy with the final coordination of plans.

For example, suppose we want to install a new device for a Japanese experiment. If another country simultaneously plans to install their own equipment, we anticipate interference between the devices. Coordinating such plans for 15 different countries is a major task.

Regarding procedures, if we are arranging items, we attach all the information the astronaut needs for the task—such as "this tool is in the third compartment of the nth drawer of that shelf"—to the timeline (the daily schedule). The day shift is occupied with these final checks.

Usually, three to six astronauts stay on the ISS, and everyone lives their lives in five-minute increments. Everything is strictly scheduled, from waking up at 6:00 AM to breakfast, morning meetings, exercise, and work within a 6.5-hour daily limit. Normally, I wake up around 7:00 AM and live with a loose sense of time, like "if I leave around this time, I'll make the train," so it's completely different. As a Type O person, I use nerves I don't normally use to look out for the astronauts (laughs).

To become a flight controller, not just a Flight Director, you first need to be recommended as a candidate. Recommendations are based on communication skills and background in previous duties. It all starts from that entry point.

Along with your own will to do it, you must have a recommendation from a supervisor saying, "You'll be fine." Once you enter, you are first sent a massive list of textbooks, and after reading through them, you take two weeks of intensive, back-to-back lectures.

After that comes the hardest part: simulation training. This is training using simulators and a room that replicates the exact same space as the actual control room.

At first, it's responding to simple malfunctions, but as the sessions progress, the malfunctions become increasingly complex. You might find that a malfunction from three hours ago is actually affecting something else now, and because malfunctions impact each other, you have to prioritize your responses. Spacecraft have redundant configurations so they can recover quickly when a failure occurs, but these configurations are so complex they are called "spaghetti diagrams." For example, if a backup electrical device fails and a fire breaks out at the same time, which do you prioritize? Making a mistake in the order can be disastrous. Protecting the safety of the astronauts is the top priority, so the training tests whether you can make those judgments.

Then there are communication skills. They check your speaking style—whether you keep talking without noticing a malfunction, or if your explanations aren't concise, causing delays in response. When every second counts during a malfunction, losing time due to communication is a huge waste.

After that, there is a written exam, followed by an eight-hour final simulation exam. Why eight hours? Because one shift is eight hours. During that time, they throw malfunctions at you from start to finish. Just thinking back on it gives me the shivers (laughs). After passing that, you move on to an oral examination and an interview.

It takes about a year and a half to two years. During that time, it's nothing but studying and simulations. If you have other internal duties, you have to handle them in parallel.

I always had the desire to become an astronaut, but I also knew it wasn't something you could become easily. When I thought about what exactly I was interested in regarding space, I realized it was human space technology. I learned about the job of a flight controller when I was in high school.

When I was a university student, "Kibo" had already been launched, so I wanted to gain experience in flight control there and identify challenges for future human space exploration. With that in mind, I requested to be a Flight Director when I joined the company.

Yes. But I had only seen the "cool" parts, so after joining, I was surprised by the steady, behind-the-scenes work. It's a continuous series of unglamorous adjustments every day, but I don't see it as a hardship.

Studying in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Faculty of Science and Technology was truly fun and like a dream every day. I wasn't good at Japanese or social studies, but I liked physics-related subjects. Being able to study that every day, having a library full of books in that field, and being able to ask the professors anything—you can't get an environment like that once you enter the workforce. Of course, I did clubs and part-time jobs, but studying was important.

Yes, I had always wanted to join the Matsuo Lab, so in my second year, I went to see you by myself.

I think the Department of Mechanical Engineering is a place where you can properly learn all the basics. I studied fluid dynamics in the Matsuo Lab, and with that background, my first position wasn't as a Flight Director, but in a team called FLAT that handles thermal and environmental control for "Kibo." Fluid dynamics was really useful there.

Specifically, it's necessary every day to negotiate in English to convey the team's consensus. Since we enter our shifts carrying the responsibility for JAXA's experiments, we have to negotiate with Flight Directors from NASA and ESA.

For example, if we absolutely want to conduct an experiment today and want it prioritized, we have to take the lead in making those adjustments. To concisely provide the information the other Flight Director needs and to make coordination go smoothly, English proficiency is definitely necessary.

For example, today I have the afternoon off and will start my shift late at night. The night shift is from midnight to 9:00 AM, including handover time, and that continues for three or four days. During those times, my day and night are reversed. On the flip side, I can make good use of my mornings. I can even go to the city hall or the bank (laughs).

Some people find they can't sleep at all, but I'm the type who can sleep quite well. For example, if a night shift ends at 9:00 AM and the next one starts at midnight, I'll try my best to stay awake until around 2:00 PM, and then sleep all at once until about 10:00 PM. Since the start times for all three shifts are different, the time slots I can use effectively change day by day. Being able to have free time during various hours might actually be a plus.

It doesn't matter at all. The year before last, I spent New Year's Eve here in the control room. The astronauts say "Happy New Year" to match the timing of each country's New Year. Hearing that, I thought, "Oh, the year has changed." We even all ate New Year's buckwheat noodles together (laughs).

There are times when I think the shifts are tough, but when the team is cooperating fully for eight hours to advance an experiment, I suddenly realize, "Oh, I'm looking at real-time data from the space station right now, operating experimental equipment by sending commands from the ground, and this video is actually real." At those moments, my fatigue just blows away.

Not really. There were few women when I entered the Faculty of Science and Technology (laughs), so I was used to it.

Three is quite a lot. At NASA, about 30% of Flight Directors are women. And the women are stronger! Even in control, they'll say things like "That's absolutely not allowed!" or "I won't permit that!" (laughs).

Currently, 2 out of 13 are women, and one is in training. For the "Kounotori" Flight Directors, 1 out of 5 is a woman. Among all flight controllers, women make up about 30%. The number is gradually increasing.

I agree. I think 30% is a high ratio considering the small overall population.

I'd like to try if there's a chance. It's been my dream since the second grade. Currently, because the ISS flies close to Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometers, we can give instructions to astronauts with almost no time lag and provide strong backup from the ground. But what if that distance becomes as far as Mars? From now on, I think an era will come where astronauts are literally cast out into space without the kind of ground support we have now. If someone who knows about current ISS flight control and coordination becomes an astronaut, I think they could be very helpful when considering training methods and future operational systems.

I am currently a Flight Director for "Kibo," but I also participated in the operations of the 5th and 6th H-II Transfer Vehicles (HTV), known as "Kounotori," as a controller in charge of the HTV systems. It has been decided that I will start training as an HTV Flight Director for the upcoming 7th vehicle starting this fiscal year, so I want to challenge myself by studying a new field.

Yes, the required knowledge is completely different. "Kibo" is already docked to the ISS, and the focus is on how to achieve experimental results as a human space laboratory. However, the HTV mission is about how to fly safely, dock with the ISS, and deliver supplies. I have to study fields like orbital mechanics and navigation guidance systems.

I want to participate in a team that builds the missions that follow the space station. We have cultivated many technologies through the operation of "Kibo" and "Kounotori," so we need to properly distinguish which parts to utilize and which to change. In the future, it's the Mars exploration mission.

Right now, we have almost real-time communication with astronauts on the ISS, and we can support them if anything happens. But in the case of Mars, communication takes four minutes round-trip. Even if I see a video and think, "Oh, that's dangerous," that was two minutes ago. Even if we give advice, it takes two minutes to arrive.

Considering this time difference, we need to distinguish between what should be left to the astronauts and how far the ground controllers should go. I want to apply the knowledge I'm gaining now to subsequent human space exploration missions.

Ultimately, I hope that what they do will connect to space somewhere. There are several moments in life where you have to make decisions, and in university, you'll worry about which department to go to or which lab to join. You won't know how that connects to the future until you actually gain experience. At every decision point, I want people to hesitate properly, think a lot, and consult with many different people.

Thank you for today. *Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.