Japanese billionaire Maezawa blasts off into space (updated)
08/12/2021 10:05
(Adds detail)
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Japanese billionaire
Yusaku Maezawa set out to became the first space tourist in more
than a decade to travel to the International Space Station (ISS)
when he blasted off on Wednesday, a voyage he sees as a dry run
for his planned trip around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX in
2023.
The 46-year-old fashion magnate and art collector
successfully launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan
along with his assistant Yozo Hirano, who will document the
journey, as well as Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.
Maezawa, a space enthusiast who has been training for the
journey for months, has become a household name in Japan thanks
to his penchant for private jets, celebrity girlfriends and cash
giveaways to Twitter followers, in a country known for its
conformist corporate culture.
Maezawa plans to upload footage of his flight to his YouTube
channel, which has 795,000 followers. He has called on his
supporters to give him 100 ideas of things to do in space, and
said he plans to play badminton aboard the ISS.
The cost of Maezawa's trip was not disclosed but some
reports have put the price tag for tourist space flights as high
as $50 million.
Maezawa is also set to become the first private passenger on
the SpaceX moon trip and has begun searching for eight people to
join him, requiring applicants to pass medical tests and an
interview.
(Reporting by Shamil Zhumatov; Writing by Gabrielle
Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Alex Richardson)
((Gabrielle.Tetrault-Farber@thomsonreuters.com;))