STS-114 astronaut Soichi Noguchi waves from the Shuttle payload bay, backdropped by the Earth below. During the mission’s second spacewalk, Noguchi and Discovery crewmate Steve Robinson replaced a failed gyroscope which keeps the International Space Station in the proper position in orbit.
STS-114 was the first “Return to Flight” Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. The Space Shuttle Discovery launched at 10:39 EDT (14:39 UTC), 26 July 2005.
Soichi Noguchi is the fifth Japanese astronaut to fly in space and the fourth to fly on the space shuttle. STS-114 was his first spaceflight ever.
