Japanese astronaut keeps his cool as he awaits 1st flight to space

Life may offer an unexpected surprise after an epic letdown, but in the case of first-time space voyager Norishige Kanai, it was an out-of-this-world opportunity.As Japan's youngest astronaut, Kanai, 40, is set to undertake a long-duration mission to the International Space Station when he takes off aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft this fall, following his initial heartbreak and nine years of extensive training.(Photograph courtesy of JAXA/NASA)Kanai, who was among the 963 applicants for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's stronaut recruitment campaign in 2009, had set aside his drea…READ FULL ARTICLE