First Japanese Astronaut Takes Command Of Space Station
Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata assumed command of the
International Space Station on Sunday, the first Japanese national to oversee a
manned space mission.
Wakata, 50, had been a space station flight engineer since
he and two crewmates arrived on November 7. "I am humbled to assume the command of the space
station," Wakata said during a change-of-command ceremony broadcast on
NASA Television.
Outgoing station commander Oleg Kotov, flight engineer
Sergey Ryazanskiy, both from Russia, and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins are due to
depart the orbital outpost on Monday. Their replacements arrive on March 26.
Wakata's command marks just the third time the station is
being overseen by a crewmember who is not from NASA or the Russian Space
Agency, the two primary partners of the 15-nation project.
Canadian Chris Hadfield served as commander from March to
May 2013. European Space Agency astronaut Frank DeWinne led a station crew in
2009. "I am very proud as a Japanese to be given this
important command," Wakata, speaking Japanese, said through a translator.
"I think that this reflects the real trust toward Japan
and what Japan has achieved over the past years," he said.
So far, four Japanese astronauts have served as space
station crewmembers, including Wakata, who previously flew in 2009. Wakata also
is a veteran of two space shuttle missions.
Along with NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio and Russian
cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Wakata is scheduled to remain aboard the station
until mid-May. One of his first tasks as commander will be to oversee the
arrival of a Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon cargo ship which is due to
launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida next Sunday and reach
the station on March 18.
The station, a $100 billion research laboratory, flies about
260 miles above Earth. It has been permanently staffed by rotating crews of
astronauts and cosmonauts since November 2000
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