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ELITEActiveJAXA
ELITEActiveJAXAJAXA·🇯🇵 Japan·Born 1970
Kimiya Yui
Former Japan Air Self-Defense Force test pilot who captured Japan's HTV-5 cargo ship with the robotic arm on his first flight, returning a decade later on SpaceX Crew-11.
309d
Days in Space
2
Missions
0
EVAs
—
EVA Time
Biography
Former Japan Air Self-Defense Force test pilot who captured Japan's HTV-5 cargo ship with the robotic arm on his first flight, returning a decade later on SpaceX Crew-11.
Before NASAF-15 Eagle fighter pilot in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force for 17 years, accumulating over 2,000 flight hours and serving as a test pilot before JAXA selected him in 2009 from 963 applicants.
Mission Timeline
- Flight Engineer
Soyuz TMA-17M
Expedition 44/45
Launch: Jul 22, 2015Landing: Dec 11, 2015Duration: 142 days- Captured the HTV-5 'Kounotori' cargo craft with the robotic arm
- Mission Specialist
SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour
SpaceX Crew-11 / Expedition 73/74
Launch: Aug 1, 2025Landing: Jan 15, 2026Duration: 167 days- Returned to the ISS a decade after his first expedition
Beyond the Mission
Hobbies & Interests
golftennisreading
Languages
JapaneseEnglishRussian
Fun fact
Yui was the first Japanese astronaut with a military background — and Japanese law required him to retire from the Self-Defense Force before he could fly in space, because the government prohibits simultaneous military and scientific roles.
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