Maezawa said the first thing he would do aboard the ISS would be “go to the bathroom” (Photo: Getty Images / NurPhoto)
A Russia sent this Wednesday (8) on multimillionaire Japanese Yusaku Maezeva and his assistant Yozo Hiramo for the International space station (EEI), reviving the promotion of space tourism after 12 years.
As planned, the Soyuz MS-20 left the Baikonur Cosmodrome, along with the two tourists and the ship’s commander, Cosmonaut Alexandr Misurkin.
A few minutes later, the spacecraft separated from the rocket and continued its flight towards the orbital station.
This is the first time that two tourists have traveled on the same spacecraft to ERA since 2009, when Canadian founder of Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberté, last entered the orbital station.
Maezawa, 46, and Hirano will spend 12 days at the station.
The manager’s assistant, the 30th richest man in Japan, according to the Forbes list, will film the adventure of Maezawa, who will recount his impressions in space on his private YouTube channel.
The spacecraft will dock with the Russian EEI Poisk module after completing four orbits and six hours of flight time.
There is also 162 kilos of cargo on board, including equipment for experiments, hygiene products, food and 13 kilos of fresh fruit, as well as letters and gifts from friends and family for those who already inhabit the IEE.
Two hours after docking, the doors will open and the three crew members will be greeted by the current tenants of the international orbital platform, cosmonauts Anton Skaplerov and Piotrevo, as well as NASA astronauts Mark Vande. Hei, Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron. like that of the European Space Agency (ESA), Matthias Maurer.
The Japanese businessman and assistant started pilot training during the summer.
“We are training for 100 days,” Maezawa said at a press conference on Tuesday (7), adding that he will have “100 tasks” on the orbital platform, the completion of which he will report to the public on Youtube.
Maezawa said the first thing he would do aboard the ISS would be “go to the bathroom.”
“It’s going to be a very long flight and that’s definitely the first thing we want to do,” he explained.
“Evil alcohol lover. Twitter junkie. Future teen idol. Reader. Food aficionado. Introvert. Coffee evangelist. Typical bacon enthusiast.”