Koichi Wakata (若田 光一, Wakata Kōichi; born 1 August 1963) is a Japanese engineer and an astronaut working for Axiom Space. Wakata retired from JAXA in 2024 after a career in spaceflight spanning nearly two decades. He logged over 500 days in space across five missions: three aboard the Space Shuttle, one on the Soyuz, and one on the Crew Dragon. His missions included three long-duration stays on the International Space Station (ISS) and two short-duration flights—one to the ISS and one aboard the Space Shuttle. Notably, during Expedition 39, he became the first Japanese commander of the ISS.
Source: “Koichi Wakata”, English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), excerpt
🎓 Kyushu University🏫 Urawa High School📅 Born August 1🎂 Born 1963📍 From Saitama(city), Saitama Prefecture