Astronaut Koichi Wakata arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday to begin his fifth space mission, a new record for a Japanese astronaut, after a U.S. SpaceX spacecraft successfully docked with the orbiting lab.
The 59-year-old is one of four on NASA's fifth crew rotation mission to the ISS for a six-month stay to conduct science experiments. They arrived around 29 hours after the launch of the U.S. commercial spacecraft Crew Dragon from Florida on Wednesday.
Wakata, who is also the oldest Japanese astronaut, said it had been "a smooth ride, just like in the simulation," and thanked the international organizations behind the mission. "I cannot wait to start working with our crew mates," he added.