Astronaut shines as JAXA’s first to live in space

Excitement is building for the upcoming STS-119 mission to the International Space Station, especially within Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA. The S6 truss and solar arrays will be delivered, as well as Koichi Wakata, JAXA’s first astronaut to live and work on the orbiting laboratory.

“This is a very big milestone for Japan’s government, as well as for the Japanese people,” Hiroki Furihata, deputy director of the JAXA liaison office at Kennedy Space Center said. “The JAXA engineers working on the Kibo elements for a future mission are excited, as well.”