Japanese tourists dock at International Space Station

TOKYO, Dec. 8 (BNA): A Japanese billionaire and his product blasted off into space on Wednesday and arrived at the International Space Station several hours later, in the first visit by self-pushing tourists to the orbital site in more than a decade.

Fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa and producer Yuzu Hirano, who plans to film their mission, blasted off to the International Space Station in Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misorkin, according to the Associated Press.

The trio lifted off as scheduled at 12:38 pm (0738 GMT) aboard a Soyuz MS-20 from Russia’s leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and successfully docked at the orbital position about six hours later.

In another several hours, the crew will be able to open the hatches and transfer to the space station from the Soyuz craft.

Maezawa and Hirano are scheduled to spend 12 days in space. The two are the first self-paid tourists to visit the space station since 2009. The price of the trip has not been disclosed.

The company that organized the trip said Maezawa compiled a list of 100 things to do in space after asking the audience for ideas. Tom Shelley, president of Space Adventures, said the list includes “simple things about everyday life perhaps for some other fun activity, as well as more serious questions.”

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