[1] In August 2006, he started flight engineer training for Russian Soyuz spacecraft in preparation for a long-duration stay on the ISS.

[1] Wakata launched to the International Space Station (ISS) for a long-duration mission as part of Expeditions 18, 19, and 20 on STS-119 on March 15, 2009 and returned to the earth aboard Endeavour with the STS-127 crew four and a half months later on July 31, 2009.

Wakata and Barry used a special Go set, which was named Go Space, designed by Wai-Cheung Willson Chow.

The crew attached the Z1 truss and Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA3) to the station using Discovery’s robotic arm.

[1] In February 2007, Wakata was assigned as a flight engineer to ISS Expedition 18, scheduled to begin in winter of 2008.

[6] During his time on the station, he took part in experiments suggested by the public, including flying a "magic carpet", folding laundry and doing pushups.

Wakata trained as backup for JAXA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-1 mission specialist Soichi Noguchi ahead of his long duration stay aboard of the ISS as part of Expedition 64.

[13] Shortly after Noguchi's launch in November 2020, JAXA announced that Wakata would return to the ISS for another long-duration mission in 2022.

[18] On April 8, 2024, it was announced that Wakata had joined Axiom Space as an astronaut and Chief Technical Officer for the Asia-Pacific Region.

[23] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.