A Russian spacecraft carrying two Japanese civilians, including businessman Yusaku Maezawa, will be launched toward the International Space Station on the 8th of Japan time, and will travel for about 12 days.
This is the first time that Japanese civilians have stayed at the International Space Station due to a series of space flights by civilians.
Yusaku Maezawa, a businessman, and Yozo Hirano, an officer of an affiliated company, boarded the Russian spacecraft "Soyuz" with a Russian astronaut, and Kazakhstan after 4:30 pm Japan time tomorrow. It will be launched from.
It is the first Japanese civilian to stay at the International Space Station and plan to travel in space for about 12 days.
A press conference was held in Kazakhstan before the launch, and Mr. Maezawa said, "I have always loved starry sky and celestial bodies, and I am full of thoughts that my dreams will finally come true. In addition to seeing the earth from space and floating in zero gravity, I would like to expect how I will change through this experience. "
The Japanese space flight was first carried out by Toyohiro Akiyama, who was a reporter for a private television station 31 years ago, followed by national astronauts such as Mamoru Mohri, and a total of 12 Japanese who flew in space. I am a person.
Including Mr. Maezawa and others this time, the total number of Japanese who went to space will be 14.
This year is said to be the year when space travel began in earnest, and while there were 20 civilians in the world who were launched into space, the number of national astronauts was 18, which is already higher than that of civilians. If you add two people such as Maezawa, the number of civilians will be 22.
Mr. Maezawa wants to conduct experiments recruited from the general public while staying in space and distribute it on the Internet, and is planning to return to the earth on December 20, Japan time.