Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata arrives at the International Space Station

Astronaut Koichi Wakata has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) to start his fifth space mission, a new record for a Japanese astronaut, after an American SpaceX spacecraft successfully docked with the orbiting laboratory, as reported by Kyodo News.

The 59-year-old astronaut is one of four on NASA’s fifth crew rotation mission to the ISS for a six-month stay to conduct scientific experiments.

They arrived about 29 hours after the launch of the US commercial ship Crew Dragon from Florida.

Wakata, who is also the oldest Japanese astronaut, said it had been “a smooth ride, like in the simulation,” and thanked the international organizations behind the mission.

“I can’t wait to start working with our fellow crew members,” he added.

With a view to future missions to the Moon and Mars, experiments aboard the ISS will include testing the movement of liquids in low-gravity environments, which is expected to lead to the development of technologies such as lubricants for use by explorers. spatial.

The other members of the latest SpaceX Crew-5 mission are two NASA astronauts – spacecraft commander Nicole Mann and pilot Josh Cassada – as well as Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.

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It was the first spaceflight for Mann, Cassada and Kikina, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Wakata and Kikina act as mission specialists.

Wakata’s four previous spaceflights include flights by the American space shuttle in 1996, 2000 and 2009, and a Russian Soyuz flight in 2013. The latest mission is his third long-duration expedition to the ISS.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, developed the Crew Dragon as a successor to NASA’s expensive Space Shuttle transportation system that was in service for 30 years until 2011.

SpaceX’s system aims to reduce costs by reusing its ships and rockets.

Following its first manned test flight in May 2020, Crew Dragon has continued to send astronauts to the ISS. Two other Japanese astronauts – Soichi Noguchi, 57, and Akihiko Hoshide, 53 – have been on previous flights.