'''Koichi Wakata''' (若田 光一 ''Wakata Kōichi'', born 1 August 1963) is a Japanese astronaut and a veteran of two NASA space shuttle missions.

Wakata, born in Omiya, Saitama, earned a masters degree in applied mathematics from Kyushu University in 1989. He worked as a structural engineer for Japan Airlines. Wakata was selected as an...(continue reading)