Koichi Wakata
- Status: Active
- In Space: No
- Date of Birth: 08/01/1963
- First Flight: 01/11/1996
- Last Flight: 10/05/2022
Launches
- Soyuz FG | Soyuz TMA-11M
- Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-119
- Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-92
- Space Shuttle Endeavour / OV-105 | STS-72
- Falcon 9 Block 5 | Crew-5
Koichi Wakata, a Japanese astronaut affiliated with the government agency Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, embarked on 5 space flights and engaging in 2 spacewalks during his/her career as an astronaut.
Koichi Wakata (若田 光一 Wakata Kōichi, born 1 August 1963) is a Japanese engineer and a JAXA astronaut. Wakata is a veteran of four NASA Space Shuttle missions, a Russian Soyuz mission, and a long-duration stay on the International Space Station. During a nearly two-decade career in spaceflight, he has logged more than eleven months in space. During Expedition 39, he became the first Japanese commander of the International Space Station. Wakata flew on the Soyuz TMA-11M/Expedition 38/Expedition 39 long duration spaceflight from 7 November 2013 to 13 May 2014. During this spaceflight he was accompanied by Kirobo, the first humanoid robot astronaut.
