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Japanese Tycoon Takes Off to Space
Lately, space has become quite bustling. Sequentially, magnates and public figures have embarked on journeys into the cosmos, experiencing fleeting moments in orbit or paying visits to the International Space Station crew. Most of these notable missions have been facilitated by western space organizations such as NASA, SpaceX, and Blue Origin. However, the United States isn’t the sole country seeking to engage in space travel for recreational purposes.
This dawn, the Russian space agency Roscosmos, marking its return after a 12-year hiatus from the sector with support from the American company Space Adventures, launched a rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome heading towards the ISS. Their benefactor is the Japanese fashion mogul and fervent space aficionado, Yusaku Maezawa, accompanied by his production aide Yozo Hirano. The duo is slated to spend a couple of weeks aboard the station alongside the existing seven-person crew, participating in diverse activities and experiments for Maezawa’s exclusive YouTube channel. Maezawa has a roster of at least 100 endeavors on his agenda, including a weightless badminton competition.
SEE: Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa departs from Kazakhstan for a 12-day expedition as Japan’s inaugural space traveler.
Accompanying him are his assistant and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. Maezawa intends to transfer funds to his Twitter followers while orbiting https://t.co/PQCc4O71e8 #前澤宇宙旅行 pic.twitter.com/gsVULKiExb
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) December 8, 2021
“It’s been a dozen years. We’ve had to exercise considerable patience. We’ve had to exhibit great ingenuity. As a result, this marks the apex of relentless effort from numerous quarters,” remarked Tom Shelley, the president of Space Adventures, in an interview with AFP.
Despite the absence of any voyages since 2009, Roscosmos hasn’t remained idle. Emboldened by the recent triumphant space tourism missions, they have already initiated the procurement of Soyuz spacecraft for forthcoming excursions. “We shall not concede this domain to the Americans. We are prepared to contest it,” asserted Dmitry Rogozin, the director of Roscosmos, addressing journalists after the launch.
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