Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata to head to space aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon in 2022

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata will embark on his fifth space mission, a space travel record for a Japanese astronaut. The Japanese astronaut is planned to board the fifth operational Crew Dragon developed by SpaceX to International Space Station, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) announced on Tuesday, 12 October. According to the JAXA press release, the launch is expected to happen in autumn 2022 or later. 

Koichi Wakata has informed that the decision about him boarding the SpaceX fifth Crew Dragon has been taken. He also stated that he has been training for a long-duration for International Space Station expedition, as per the JAXA press release. Moreover, he mentioned that it is an honour to board the new space vehicle for three consecutive years for JAXA astronauts. He will be succeeding JAXA astronauts NOGUCHI Soichi and HOSHIDE Akihiko. The JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata will fly to the International Space Station(ISS) next year aboard the Crew Dragon developed by SpaceX. 

"It has been decided that I will be boarding the SpaceX's fifth Crew Dragon. I have been training for a long duration mission aboard the ISS and it is an honor to board this new space vehicle for three consecutive years for JAXA astronauts, succeeding NOGUCHI Soichi and HOSHIDE Akihiko," Koichi Wakata was quoted as saying in the press release.

In the statement, the Japanese astronaut further informed that it will be his fifth space flight. Previously, he has been on three US Space Shuttle flights in 1996, 2000 and 2013 and aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft in 2013. As per the ANI report, National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada have been so far assigned to the mission. Crew Dragon spacecraft has been developed by United States aerospace manufacturer Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

(Inputs from ANI)

(Image: Twitter/@jaxa_wdc)