VIENNA (Kyodo) Astronaut Takao Doi became a section chief at the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna on Thursday, starting a two-year stint as the first astronaut to work at the office.
Doi, the first Japanese to exit a vehicle in space in 1997, was selected for the post through open recruitment. He will be involved in such work as developing a system to disseminate observational data collected from satellites to countries affected by natural disasters.
The 54-year-old Doi said he also wants to build a system through which scientists from countries around the world can take part in research on the International Space Station.
Doi was selected as an astronaut in 1985 together with Mamoru Mohri and Chiaki Mukai, and flew space shuttle missions in 1997 and last year.
