Russian rocket carrying Japanese billionaire jets off to hold badminton tournament on ISS

The Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa will hold a badminton tournament on the International Space Station (ISS) and conduct several other activities, reported The Times, He has compiled a list of 100 things to do in space after consulting experts.  A Japanese business tycoon and his producer started their journey to space on Wednesday. Yusaku Maezawa and producer Yozo Hirano have planned to capture the mission as they left for International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, according to AP. Hours later, they reached the International Space Station, making it the first visit by self-paying space tourists. 

Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano to film the mission

Yusaku Maezawa, Yozo Hirano and Alexander Misurkin began their journey to ISS at the scheduled time of 12:38 pm (07:38 GMT). The trio left from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan aboard Soyuz MS-20. After nearly six hours, they reached the orbiting outpost and in a few more hours, they would be able to open the hatches and move to the space station from the Soyuz. 

According to AP, Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano will be staying in space for 12 days. Maezawa and Hirano are the first two tourists to self-pay for their space trip, however, their expenditure for the trip has not been revealed,. The company that organised the flight has informed that Maezawa has made a list of 100 things that they would do in space including things in "daily life, fun activities, serious questions" etc. Space Adventures President Tom Shelley has stated that Maezawa has compiled the list after asking the people for ideas.

Speaking about the spaceship trip, Yusaku Maezawa informed that he would like to see Earth from space and experience weightlessness. Maezawa in a press conference on Tuesday, 8 December said, "And I also have a personal expectation: I’m curious how the space will change me, how I will change after this space flight," as per AP. Furthermore, Yusako Maezawa has also booked a flyby around the moon aboard Elon Musk's Starship that is scheduled in a few years. Shelley added, "His objective is to try to share the experience of what it means to be in space with the general public."

Inputs from AP

Image: AP