Japanese Astronaut Wakata Speaks Before Next Month's Space Mission
A Japanese astronaut who is set to embark on his fifth space voyage in October says he hopes to make it a mission that gives the next generations hopes and dreams.
Wakata Koichi was speaking to reporters on Thursday. He, two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut are to head to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft.
Wakata said he has been on space shuttle and Soyuz missions before, but that this will be his first on a spacecraft with no control stick. He said he's looking forward to boarding a "new era" craft.
The mission involving Japanese, US and Russian crewmembers comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues.
Wakata said global cooperation is indispensable for the development of manned space exploration. He added that his team is committed to working together and producing results.
This will be his fifth spaceflight, the most among Japanese astronauts. The 59-year-old said he wants to see the technology and other resources Japan has acquired from past ISS missions utilized in future manned space missions.
The SpaceX craft was scheduled to be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida on October 4. But the launch was postponed to the next day due to an approaching hurricane.