Japanese billionaire YusakuMaezawa to fly to ISS

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Japanese billionaire YusakuMaezawa has said that he is extremely happy on the eve of blasting off to the International Space Station as a run-up to a more ambitious trip around the moon with Elon Musk’s SpaceX planned in 2023.

The 46-year-old fashion magnate and art collector trained at a space center outside Moscow before becoming the first space tourist to travel to the ISS in more than a decade.

Maezawa will travel onboard a Soyuz spacecraft operated by Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, which will fly to space on Wednesday from the Baikonurcosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Maezawa will be accompanied by his assistant, Yozo Hirano, who will document the journey, along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.

Maezawa said that flying into space is a dream that he cherished from his childhood.

Maezawa said at a news conference,“I’m excited. I feel like an elementary school student about to go on a outing. I didn’t think I would be able to go to space. I used to like the starry sky and heavenly bodies. I feel fortunate to have this opportunity and to finally fulfil my dream.”

Maezawa will also become the first private passenger on the SpaceX moon trip, with commercial firms including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin bringing in a new age of space travel for wealthy clients.

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