| Akihiko Hoshide | |
|---|---|
| NASDA/JAXA Astronaut | |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Status | Active |
| Born | December 28, 1968 Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan |
| Other occupation | Engineer |
| Time in space | 13d 18h 13m 7s |
| Selection | 1999 NASDA Group |
| Missions | STS-124 |
| Mission insignia | |
Akihiko Hoshide (星出 彰彦 Hoshide Akihiko, born December 28, 1968) is a Japanese engineer and a JAXA astronaut.
He was born in 1968 in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan, but grew up in New Jersey.[1] He received an International Baccalaureate Diploma from the United World College of South East Asia in 1987, a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Keio University in 1992, and a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering in 1997.
He joined the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) in 1992 and worked in the development of the H-II launch vehicle for two years. From 1994 to 1999, he was as an astronaut support engineer for the NASDA Astronaut Office, supporting the development of the astronaut training program and supported astronaut Koichi Wakata during Wakata's training and mission on STS-72.
In February 1999 Hoshide was selected by NASDA (now JAXA) 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 participated in ISS Advanced Training, as well as supporting the development of the hardware and operation of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibō and the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV).
In May 2004, he completed Soyuz-TMA Flight Engineer-1 training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia and then transferred to the Johnson Space Center. He completed NASA Astronaut Candidate Training and was assigned to the crew of STS-124, the second of three flights that launched components to the International Space Station to complete the Japanese Kibō laboratory in May 2008.
After successfully making it back to Earth after mission STS-124, Hoshide spent time talking to students about his mission. He visited schools such as Assumption St. Bridget School and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.