若田さん、米宇宙企業へ　元ＮＡＳＡ飛行士も所属

　米宇宙企業アクシオムスペースは９日までに、３月末に宇宙航空研究開発機構（ＪＡＸＡ）を退職した宇宙飛行士の若田光一さん（６０）が同社のアジア・太平洋地域担当最高技術責任者に就任したと発表した。
　アクシオムは２０１６年の設立で、老朽化が進む国際宇宙ステーション（ＩＳＳ）に代わる民間ステーションの建設を計画しているほか、ＩＳＳに民間人が滞在する宇宙旅行も実施。これまでの３回では、米航空宇宙局（ＮＡＳＡ）を退職後、同社に移った宇宙飛行士が船長を務めた。
　同社はプレスリリースで「将来の民間宇宙飛行ミッションのリーダーとして、加わってくれることは光栄だ」とコメントした。（2024/04/09-17:11）

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata has been appointed as Axiom Space Inc.'s chief technical officer for the Asia-Pacific region, according to the U.S. space infrastructure development company.
   "We're honored and excited to have him join the team as a future commander of private astronaut missions, as well as a technical expert and leader, advancing commercial space development and promoting global partnership," Axiom's Chief Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria said in a press release from the company.
   Wakata, 60, left the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, at the end of March, after staying in space for 504 days, a record for Japanese astronauts, in five missions and becoming the first Japanese commander of the International Space Station.
   Established in 2016, Axiom is planning to build a private space station to replace the aging ISS.
   It has so far offered three ISS tours for civilians, in which astronauts who moved to Axiom after retiring from NASA served as commander.