Koichi Wakata is a Japanese engineer and a JAXA astronaut. 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 eleven months 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.
Richard Alan "Rick" Mastracchio is an American engineer and former NASA astronaut. He has flown on three NASA Space Shuttle missions as a mission specialist in addition to serving as a Flight Engineer on the Soyuz TMA-11M long duration mission aboard the International Space Station. He is currently the Senior Director of Operations for Commercial Resupply Services at Orbital ATK.
Robert Shane Kimbrough is a retired United States Army officer, and a NASA astronaut. He was part of the first group of candidates selected for NASA astronaut training following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Kimbrough is a veteran of three spaceflights, the first being a Space Shuttle flight, and the second being a six-month mission to the ISS on board a Russian Soyuz craft. He was the commander of the International Space Station for Expedition 50, and returned to Earth in April 2017. He is married to the former Robbie Lynn Nickels.
Soichi Noguchi is a Japanese aeronautical engineer and JAXA astronaut. His first spaceflight was as a Mission Specialist aboard STS-114 on 26 July 2005 for NASA's first "return to flight" Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia disaster. He was also in space as part of the Soyuz TMA-17 crew and Expedition 22 to the International Space Station (ISS), returning to Earth on 2 June 2010. He is the sixth Japanese astronaut to fly in space, the fifth to fly on the Space Shuttle, and the first to fly on Crew Dragon.
Satoshi Furukawa is a Japanese surgeon and JAXA astronaut. Furukawa was assigned to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on long-duration missions Expedition 28/29, lifting off 7 June 2011 and returning 22 November 2011.
Akihiko Hoshide is a Japanese engineer, JAXA astronaut, and former Commander of the International Space Station. On August 30, 2012, Hoshide became the third Japanese astronaut to walk in space.
Sergey Nikolayevich Ryzhikov, lieutenant colonel of Russian Air Force, is a Russian cosmonaut, selected in 2006. He is a veteran of two long duration space flights to the ISS.
Expedition 18 was the 18th permanent crew of the International Space Station (ISS). The first two crew members, Michael Fincke, and Yuri Lonchakov were launched on 12 October 2008, aboard Soyuz TMA-13. With them was astronaut Sandra Magnus, who joined the Expedition 18 crew after launching on STS-126 and remained until departing on STS-119 on 25 March 2009. She was replaced by JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, who arrived at the ISS on STS-119 on 17 March 2009. Gregory Chamitoff, who joined Expedition 18 after Expedition 17 left the station, ended his stay aboard ISS and returned to Earth with the STS-126 crew.
Expedition 29 was the 29th long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). The expedition formally began on 16 September 2011, with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft. Astronauts Satoshi Furukawa, Michael Fossum and Sergey Volkov, who had arrived at the ISS aboard Soyuz TMA-02M in June 2011, began their Expedition 29 service at this time.
Thomas Gautier Pesquet is a French aerospace engineer, pilot, and European Space Agency astronaut. Pesquet was selected by ESA as a candidate in May 2009, and he successfully completed his basic training in November 2010. From November 2016 to June 2017, Pesquet was part of Expedition 50 and Expedition 51 as a flight engineer. Pesquet returned to space in April 2021 on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon for a second six-month stay on the ISS.
Michael Scott Hopkins is a United States Space Force colonel and NASA astronaut. Hopkins was selected in June 2009 as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group 20. He made his first spaceflight as a Flight Engineer on Soyuz TMA-10M/Expedition 37/Expedition 38, from September 2013 until March 2014. He is the first member of his astronaut class to fly in space. Hopkins is the first astronaut to transfer to the U.S. Space Force, participating in a transfer ceremony on the International Space Station.
Norishige Kanai, M.D. is a Japanese doctor and JAXA astronaut.
Expedition 33 was the 33rd long-duration expedition to the International Space Station (ISS). It began on 16 September 2012 with the departure from the ISS of the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft, which returned the Expedition 32 crew to Earth.
Soyuz TMA-11M was a 2013 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 38 crew to the International Space Station. TMA-11M is the 120th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, with the first flight launching in 1967. The successful docking of the Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft on November 7, 2013 marked the first time since October 2009 that nine people have resided on the space station without the presence of a space shuttle.
Expedition 38 was the 38th expedition to the International Space Station.
Expedition 50 was the 50th expedition to the International Space Station.
Boeing Starliner-1 is the first operational crew mission of the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS), and is planned to be the fourth orbital flight mission of the Starliner overall. It is scheduled for launch no earlier than March 2023, as SpaceX Crew-5 will launch in the fall of 2022. It will transport members of a future ISS Expedition to the ISS. This would only be the fifth U.S. spaceflight with a female commander, after STS-93, STS-114, STS-120 and SpaceX Crew-5.
SpaceX Crew-2 was the second operational flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the third overall crewed orbital flight of the Commercial Crew Program. The mission was launched on 23 April 2021 at 09:49:02 UTC, and docked to the International Space Station on 24 April at 09:08 UTC.
SpaceX Crew-5 will be the fifth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the eighth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission is planned for launch in September 2022 and will transport four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). As of December 2021, two NASA astronauts, one JAXA astronaut, and one Russian cosmonaut have been assigned to the mission. Three of the currently assigned crew members were assigned following delays to Boeing's Starliner programme. Commander Nicole Mann was reassigned to the flight from Boeing's Boe-CFT mission, while Pilot Josh Cassada and Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata transferred from Boeing Starliner-1. Anna Kikina was reassigned from Soyuz MS-22. Three of the four crew members are making their first space flight, the exception being Koichi Wakata who is a veteran with multiple previous flights.
