Table of Contents

Soyuz Mission

Qualification exams

For a cosmonaut crew to be certified for a Soyuz mission and ISS expedition, we must pass several qualification exams at the end of our training. For certification as a Soyuz Flight Engineer and Visiting ISS Cosmonaut, I participated in five "quals." All of the exams were performed in the setting of simulations that evaluated our proficiency in a number of operational scenarios.

The Russians have been using qualification exams to certify crews since the early days of their human space flight program. It is a formal and rigorous event. On the morning of a qual, the crew reports to the exam Commission prior to entering the simulator. There is a scripted dialogue exchanged between the crew commander and the head of the Commission. The crew is asked to select, sign, and date an exam envelope and then hand it back. A card inside the envelope (which the crew does not see) describes the scenario that will be played out during the sim. The scenario, of course, contains a number of malfunctions. For instance, for my crew's Soyuz qualification exam, our card listed the following contingencies and malfunctions:

• failure of the prime VHF radio transmitter upon entry to orbit
• failure of the rendezvous radar during approach to the Space Station
• failure of the translation hand controller during final approach to the Station
• depressurizaton of the Soyuz descent module following undocking from the Station
• failure to initiate the emergency descent program
• failure of the Soyuz main engine to shut down upon completion of the de-orbit burn

Each exam Commission consists of many examiners. For our most important quals, the Commission included about 30 training department heads, systems experts from Energia (the prime contractor for the Soyuz and Russian segment of the ISS), and officials from the Cosmonaut Office. While the crew is performing in the simulators, every command that we issue and every word that we speak is being monitored. Even our movements are observed as a means to assess our judgment and reaction times.

Quals are a bit like the Stanley Cup finals. It doesn't matter how well our crew has performed in simulations during the "regular season." What matters is how well we perform on the day of our qualification exams when we are being scrutinized by the Commission. This keeps the adrenaline flowing.

Photographers are also present at the start and end of each qual. The crew stops for the obligatory photo op just before entering the simulator. We smile for the cameras even though we would rather just get on with the qual.

(In this photo, notice the flight suit that I am wearing which was provided by the Russian space agency. The design on my left upper chest is a stylized representation of the European Union flag while the design over my right upper chest represents my nationality. I had requested that the Canadian flag on my flight suit be styled similar to the sweater design worn by Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series. Pretty cool, eh?)

Of course, the exams are designed to stress the crew and always seem to end after a long day with a serious emergency situation. True to form, our Space Station qual ended with a fire in the FGB (Functional Cargo Block). We quickly donned our gas masks, extinguished the simulated fire, and closed the hatches to protect the rest of the station from the smoke.