The collaboration between the Italian Air Force and the US aerospace company AXIOM Space continues
In recent days, two astronauts from Axiom Space, the American Michael López-Alegría, Commander of the Ax-3 mission which in recent months also saw the Italian Air Force astronaut Colonel Walter Villadei as protagonist, and the Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, with five space missions under his belt, spent two intense weeks at the Experimental Flight Department of Pratica di Mare for a Space Orientation Program (SOP).
This program included a theoretical phase on the ground and a practical phase in flight with the T-346A aircraft, on which the AXIOM astronauts flew together with the experimenter pilots of the 311th Flight Group of the RSV, Department dependent on the Air Division of Aeronautical and Space Experimentation which has the task of supporting the operational units of the Air Force through the experimentation, development, integration and validation of new weapon systems or those undergoing modification.
The main objective of the SOP was to expose the astronauts to maneuvers under high load factor and to a complex flight environment to develop a greater awareness of the cognitive load during flights, making the most of teamwork and decision-making skills under stress. The activity will be followed by further sessions planned over the next year as a preparatory activity for the AXIOM astronauts already scheduled for space missions.
Once again, aeronautical and space skills overlap and strengthen, through the valuable professionalism of the Air Force.
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