Circle Image

Koichi Wakata

Japanese - (JAXA)

Active

Date of Birth: Aug. 1, 1963
Age: 61


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.

Space Shuttle Endeavour / OV-105 | STS-72

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Jan. 11, 1996, 9:41 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

STS-72 was a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission to capture and return to Earth a Japanese 16 spacecraft known as Space Flyer Unit (SFU). The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on 11 January 1996.

Low Earth Orbit
Explore Share

Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-92

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Oct. 11, 2000, 11:17 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

STS-92 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by Space Shuttle Discovery. STS-92 marked the 100th mission of the Space Shuttle.

Low Earth Orbit
Explore Share

Space Shuttle Discovery / OV-103 | STS-119

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
March 15, 2009, 11:43 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

STS-119 (ISS assembly flight 15A) was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was flown by Space Shuttle Discovery during March 2009. It delivered and assembled the fourth starboard Integrated Truss Segment (S6), and the fourth set of solar arrays and batteries to the station.

Low Earth Orbit
Explore Share

Space Shuttle Endeavour / OV-105 | STS-127

National Aeronautics and Space Administration | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
July 15, 2009, 10:03 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

STS-127 (ISS assembly flight 2J/A) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It was the twenty-third flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour. The primary purpose of the STS-127 mission was to deliver and install the final two components of the Japanese Experiment Module: the Exposed Facility (JEM EF), and the Exposed Section of the Experiment Logistics Module (ELM-ES). When Endeavour docked with the ISS on this mission in July 2009, it set a record for the most humans in space at the same time in the same vehicle, the first time thirteen people have been at the station at the same time. It also tied the record of thirteen people in space at any one time.

Low Earth Orbit
Explore Share

Soyuz FG | Soyuz TMA-11M

Progress Rocket Space Center | Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan
Nov. 7, 2013, 4:14 a.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

Soyuz TMA-11M begins expedition 38 by carrying 3 astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Russian Commander, cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin alongside Flight Engineers, Richard Mastracchio (NASA) & Koichi Wakata (JAXA) will launch aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and then rendezvous with the station. It landed on 14 May 2014 at 01:58 UTC

Low Earth Orbit
Explore Share

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Crew-5

SpaceX | United States of America
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Oct. 5, 2022, 4 p.m.
Status: Success
Mission:

SpaceX Crew-5 is the fifth crewed operational flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Low Earth Orbit B1077 - Maiden Flight Just Read the Instructions
Explore Share

Administrator: Hiroshi Yamakawa

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is Japan's national aero-space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and the launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions, such as asteroid exploration and possible manned exploration of the Moon. JAXA launch their Epsilon vehicle from the Uchinoura Space Center and their H-II vehicles from the Tanegashima Space Center.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
4 hours ago
Progress MS-29 (90P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Starship
Success
1 day, 18 hours ago
Integrated Flight Test 6
Orbital Launch Mount A - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

Sixth test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle.


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 21 hours ago
GSAT-20 (GSAT-N2)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

GSAT-20 is an Indian geostationary Ka-band high-throughput communications satellite. GSAT 20 is reportedly built on the I-6K unified modular bus a…


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 10 hours ago
Starlink Group 9-12
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 17 hours ago
Optus-X/TD7
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

An unannounced geostationary communication satellite built by Northrop Grumman, alleged for the Australian telecommunications operator Optus. Details…