Koichi Wakata
Koichi Wakata is a Japanese engineer, JAXA astronaut, and one of the most experienced international astronauts in the International era. His career spans shuttle retrieval work, ISS assembly, long-duration Soyuz , and operations.
- Born
- August 1, 1963
- Died
- N/A
- Birthplace
- Omiya, Saitama,Japan
Flights
5
Spacewalks
2
EVA time
14 hours, 2 minutes
In space
504 days, 18 hours, 35 minutes
Bio
Wakata studied aeronautical engineering before joining Japan Airlines as an aircraft engineer. He was selected by NASDA, later JAXA, and trained with NASA as a during the shuttle period.
His early missions, STS-72 and STS-92, connected Japanese spaceflight to shuttle satellite retrieval and ISS assembly. He later became the first Japanese long-duration resident aboard the ISS, launching on STS-119 and returning on STS-127 after Expeditions 18, 19, and 20.
Wakata returned to the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-11M and later on SpaceX Crew-5.