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Aerospace & Defense Industries

Japanese billionaire makes it into space aboard Russian Soyuz

Yusaku Maezawa's 12-day trip comes ahead of SpaceX lunar mission in 2023

Online fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa is the first Japanese space tourist to travel to the International Space Station. (Source photos by AFP/Jiji) 

TOKYO -- Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa flew into space on Wednesday aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket to visit the International Space Station, the first Japanese tourist to travel to the Earth-orbiting laboratory.

The 12-day mission comes ahead of Maezawa's scheduled flight around the moon in the first commercial lunar mission planned for SpaceX's Starship vehicle in 2023.

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