Koichi Wakata

Koichi Wakata is a Japanese engineer and an astronaut working for Axiom Space. He retired from JAXA in 2024. Wakata is a veteran of four NASA Space Shuttle missions, a Russian Soyuz mission, and a long-duration stay on the International Space Station. During a nearly two-decade career in spaceflight, he has logged more than five hundred days in space. During Expedition 39, he became the first Japanese commander of the International Space Station. Wakata flew on the Soyuz TMA-11M/Expedition 38/Expedition 39 long duration spaceflight from 7 November 2013 to 13 May 2014. During this spaceflight he was accompanied by Kirobo, the first humanoid robot astronaut. As of 2023, he is the longest active astronaut in the world.

1 August 1963

Born on the same birth date (1 August 1963): Coolio • Dean Wareham • Demián Bichir • John Carroll Lynch

Born on the same birth day (1 August): Adam Duritz • Anton Strålman • Ben Trbojevic • Cliff Branch • Geoff Pullar • George de Hevesy • James Mourilyan Tanner • Meena Kumari • Roy Williams (basketball coach) • Tempestt Bledsoe • Terry Kiser • Tommy Bolin

Born in the same month (August 1963): Alejandro González Iñárritu • Ed Roland • Elizabeth Fraser • Emi Shinohara • Glória Pires • Isaiah Washington • John Carroll Lynch • Jon Turteltaub • José Cóceres • Keith Ellison • Kōji Kitao • Mark Strong • Nick Gillespie • Reb Beach • Sir Mix-a-Lot • Tasmin Archer • Tori Amos