Background
Noguchi, Soichi was born on April 15, 1965 in Yokohama, Japan.
野口 聡一
Noguchi, Soichi was born on April 15, 1965 in Yokohama, Japan.
Noguchi graduated from Chigasaki-Hokuryo High School, in Chigasaki, in 1984, and then studied at the, earning a bachelor"s degree in 1989 and a master"s degree in 1991, both in Aeronautical Engineering.
His first spaceflight was as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for National Aeronautics and Space Administration"s first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was most recently in space as part of the Soyuz Turnaround Management Association-17 crew and Expedition 22 to the International Space Station, returning to Earth on 2 June 2010. He is the fifth Japanese astronaut to fly in space and the fourth to fly on the space shuttle.
After graduation, Noguchi worked for Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, assigned to the research and development department of their Aeronautical-Engine and Space Operations division.
He worked on aerodynamic design of commercial engines. Noguchi was selected as an astronaut candidate by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (now part of JAXA) in June 1996.
In August 1996, he reported to National Aeronautics and Space Administration"s Johnson Space Center for National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut training. Noguchi qualified as a mission specialist after two years, and received training on Russian space systems at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in 1998.
He was assigned to technical support for the Japanese Experiment Module of the International Space Station and then, in April 2001, to the crew of STS-114 as a Mission Specialist.
Noguchi flew to the ISS on Soyuz Turnaround Management Association-17 on December 20, 2009. He served as a primary crew member (as Flight Engineer) of Expedition 22 and Expedition 23. While in space, he took many photographs of Earth which he shared via Twitter.
He returned to Earth on 2 June 2010.
Noguchi voices himself in episode 13 and 26 of the anime series, Uchū Kyōdai (Space Brothers), which aired on June 24, 2012 and September 29, 2012 respectively. On the 2nd August 2015, Noguchi spoke to 33,628 fellow Scouts during the Arena Event at the 23rd World Scout Jamboree, held in Japan.
Member of Japan Society Aeronautical and Space Sciences.
Married; 3 children.