
TOKYO: Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata will leave for the International Space Station on a U.S. spacecraft Oct. 4, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said Thursday.
The SpaceX Crew-5 spacecraft carrying Wakata is scheduled to be launched at 1:45 a.m. Japan time (4:45 p.m. Oct. 3 GMT), according to JAXA.
Together with Russian and US astronauts, Wakata, 59, will head to the ISS for a six-month stay.
Wakata’s fifth flight to space will be the most such trips made by a Japanese astronaut. It will be his third long-term stay at the ISS.
JIJI Press