Satoshi Furukawa

is a Japanese surgeon and a JAXA astronaut.

Born in 1964 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. He enjoys baseball, bowling, music and travelling. He is married and has two children.

Medical career

He graduated from Eiko high school, Kamakura, in 1983; received a Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Tokyo in 1989, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Medical Science from the same school in 2000.

From 1989 to 1999, Furukawa worked in the Department of Surgery at the University of Tokyo, as well as the Department of Anesthesiology at JR Tokyo General Hospital, the Department of Surgery at Ibaraki Prefectural Central Hospital and at Sakuragaoka Hospital.

NASDA/JAXA career

In February 1999, Furukawa was selected by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) as one of three Japanese astronaut candidates for the International Space Station (ISS). He started the ISS Astronaut Basic Training program in April 1999 and was certified as an astronaut in January 2001.

Since April 2001, he has been participating in ISS Advanced Training, as well as supporting the development of the hardware and operation of the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo.”

On October 1, 2003, NASDA merged with ISAS (Institute of Space & Astronautic Science) and NAL (National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan) and was renamed JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

In May 2004, he completed Soyuz-TMA Flight Engineer-1 training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC), Star City, Russia.

Furukawa arrived at the Johnson Space Center in June 2004. In February 2006 he completed NASA Astronaut Candidate Training that included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction in Shuttle and International Space Station systems, physiological training, T-38 flight training, and water and wilderness survival training. Completion of this initial training qualifies him for various technical assignments within the NASA Astronaut Office and future flight assignment as a Mission Specialist on Space Shuttle mission.

External links

* [http://www11.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/furukawa-s.html NASA bio]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/international/english/furukawa_satoshi.htm Spacefacts biography of Satoshi Furukawa]