Japanese fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and his production assistant Yozo Hirano bid farewell before heading to Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, from which a rocket is expected to blast off on Wednesday at 0738 GMT. Their journey towards the International Space Station aboard the three-person Soyuz spacecraft piloted by Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin will take just over six hours. Maezawa, a space enthusiast who made his wealth in online fashion, and his assistant will spend 12 days aboard the orbital station.

Interested in licensing this video ? Get in touch 👉 http://u.afp.com/UBbQ
N.B.: AFP’s services and content are for professional use only