Japanese billionaire flies aboard Russian craft for space trip

By Meiramgul Kussainaova

NUR SULTAN, Kazakhstan (AA) – Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano launched into space aboard a Russian-built Soyuz capsule on Wednesday.

The spacecraft took off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0738GMT. It is expected to reach the International Space Station around 1330GMT.

The trip will take 12 days under the command of veteran Russian cosmonaut Aleksander Misurkin.

Before the journey, Maezawa and his assistant received six-month training in Moscow.

"Dreams come true," the Japanese billionaire tweeted after the launching.

Maezawa's trip was organized by a US-based space firm Space Adventures. The cost is reported around $90 million.

Previously, billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson also took a trip to space.

*Writing and contributions by Gokhan Ergocun in Istanbul