A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying a Japanese billionaire lifted off Wednesday for the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a trip marking Russia's return to orbital tourism.
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46-year-old Yusaku Maezawa, who made his fortune in online fashion, his assistant Yozo Hirano and Russian cosmonaut Alexandre Missourkine took off at 7:38 GMT (8:38 French time) as scheduled, an AFP journalist noted.
The two Japanese space tourists will stay 12 days in the Russian segment of the oribital station.
