Wakata, Koichi (1963– )

Japanese astronaut. He was the first Japanese mission specialist on a space shuttle mission when he flew on Endeavour in January 1996 to retrieve the Space Flyer Unit, an uncrewed space experiment platform, launched from Japan. He also flew on the Discovery mission in October 2000 to expand the International Space Station. Wakata was selected as an astronaut with the National Space Development Agency in 1992 and assigned to NASA's Johnson Space Center for training in the same year.