{"id":10787,"date":"2021-12-08T18:13:08","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T10:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/japanese-billionaire-and-assistant-arrive-at-space-station\/"},"modified":"2021-12-08T18:13:08","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T10:13:08","slug":"japanese-billionaire-and-assistant-arrive-at-space-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/japanese-billionaire-and-assistant-arrive-at-space-station\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese billionaire and assistant arrive at space station"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Yusaku Maezawa, Yozo Hirano, and Alexander Misurkin, wearing blue flight suits, joined seven other residents on the International Space Station after docking Dec. 8. Credit: NASA TV \/ Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Russian cosmonaut, a Japanese billionaire and his production assistant rocketed into orbit Wednesday and headed for the International Space Station for an 12-day visit, the first by paying \u201cspace tourists\u201d in more than a decade.<\/p>\n

The mission serves as a stepping stone of sorts to a much more ambitious flight by Yusaku Maezawa, the founder of Zozotown, the largest online fashion retailer in Japan. He is working with SpaceX to charter a flight around the moon aboard the company\u2019s Starship rocket when testing is complete.<\/p>\n

But first, Maezawa, working through Virginia-based Space Adventures, is paying the Russian space agency Roscosmos an undisclosed amount to fly him and his assistant, Yozo Hirano, to the space station. Hirano is a film producer who will document the flight for Maezawa\u2019s YouTube channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like an elementary school student about to go on an outing,\u201d Maezawa said during a pre-launch news conference. \u201cI didn\u2019t think I would be able to go to space. \u2026 I feel fortunate to have this opportunity and to finally fulfill my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

With veteran cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin at the controls of the Soyuz MS-20\/66S spacecraft, flanked on the left by Maezawa and on the right by Hirano, the spacecraft\u2019s Soyuz 2.1a rocket roared to life at 2:38 a.m. EST (12:38 p.m. local time) and climbed away from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n

Eight minutes and 45 seconds after launch, the Soyuz ferry ship was released from the booster\u2019s upper stage. Solar panels and antennas then unfolded as planned and the spacecraft set off after the space station, targeting an automated docking at the lab\u2019s Russian Poisk module at 8:41 a.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cDreams come true,\u201d Maezawa tweeted on the eve of launch, using his English language \u201c@yousuckMZ\u201d Twitter account. \u201cFrom now on, I won\u2019t be able to use my iPhone, so the next tweet will be from space. Let\u2019s go\u201d<\/p>\n

The crew will be welcomed aboard by Expedition 66 commander Anton Shkaplerov and his Soyuz MS-19\/64S crewmates Pyotr Dubrov and Mark Vande Hei, along with four Crew Dragon astronauts: NASA\u2019s Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron and European Space Agency flier Matthias Maurer.<\/p>\n

Maezawa\u2019s intention \u201cis to try to share the experience of what it means to be in space with the general public,\u201d Space Adventures President Tom Shelley told The Associated Press. He plans to document \u201csimple things about daily life to maybe some some other fun activities, to more serious questions as well.\u201d<\/p>\n