SpaceX Starship on the test stand at Starbase. Credit: Nik Ansuini

SpaceX

A major Starship test and two private Dragon flights

In the next few weeks we should see the first orbital launch of SpaceX’s massive new Starship vehicle. They recently completed a firing of 31 of the 33 engines at the same time. It was quite a sight. Once they receive the go ahead from the FAA, they will attempt to launch this gigantic rocket into Earth orbit. Starship is planned to not only launch payload into space, but also humans, with Space Adventures’ orbital spaceflight client Yusaku Maezawa awaiting his DearMoon flight around the Moon, and Jared Isaacman slated to fly to low-Earth orbit on the third Polaris mission (see more below).

The SpaceX Starship and Booster. Image Credit: Elon Musk on Twitter (annotations by Space Adventures)

SpaceX also operate the most reliable human spacecraft currently on the market, the Dragon. This year should see a couple different missions with private citizens on board. First is the Axiom AX-2 mission, really a private citizen / government astronaut mixed flight. Scheduled for May the flight will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station for a 10 day stay – one fare-paying private citizen, two professional Saudi astronauts and one Axiom professional astronaut who will serve as an in orbit guide.

Then later in the summer we should see the Polaris Dawn mission. After the Inspiration4 mission in September 2021, billionaire Jared Isaacman announced the Polaris Program. The first mission – Polaris Dawn – will fly to low-Earth orbit (but not to the ISS) and has the ambitious goal of opening the spacecraft door and allowing at least one crew member to complete a spacewalk.

Boeing Starliner

Human flight debut coming soon

Space Adventures’ partner Boeing are set to overcome a series of mishaps and delays by completing the human flight debut for their Starliner spacecraft with a 60 day launch window opening in April. Starliner completed a successful mission to the ISS last year without people, and this time will carry two NASA astronauts for a 10 day stay. If successful, Starliner will enter regular service to the ISS next year.

Boeing Starliner docking with the ISS in May 2022.  Image credit: NASA

Blue Origin

Grounded

Blue Origin had been in a nice cadence of launch completing six suborbital flights with humans (to ~100km) between July 2021 and August 2022, before an un-crewed research flight (carrying science payload) experienced an engine failure on September 12, 2022. Blue are still investigating what happened, and have not published a schedule for when they will return to flight either with or without humans.

Blue Origin New Shepard Rocket Launch. Credit: Blue Origin

High altitude balloons

An experience worth keeping an eye on.

A new addition to the human space experience options, and I think worthy of a mention for the first time is high-altitude balloon flights.  These flights are designed to carry a group of 6-8 passengers to 30 km above Earth’s surface for a multi-hour cruise, all for a 5 or 6 figures price tag. There are three companies WorldView, Space Perspective and Halo Space making steady progress. While we don’t expect any of them to carry people this year, they are getting close, and it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Credit: Halo Space

The post Private spaceflight in 2023 first appeared on Space Adventures.

MZ onboard the International Space Station. Credit: Yusaku Maezawa

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic started things off, becoming the first private company to fly passengers to suborbital space when they launched on July 11, 2021. Richard Branson was accompanied by three Virgin Galactic staff members on the flight that reached 86kms above Earth, allowing them to float in weightlessness for a few minutes.

Inaugural flight of Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity. Credit: Virgin Galactic

Blue Origin

Virgin upstaged Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin by flying first, but Blue Origin certainly came out the better by the end of the year, completing a total of three flights, with 14 passengers.

Blue Origin New Shepard Rocket Launch. Credit: Blue Origin

SpaceX

September saw the first private orbital launch of the year with the Inspiration4 Mission. Conducted on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft the crew of four spent three days orbiting the Earth enjoying a spectacular views through the added dome window. The mission was paid for by Jared Isaacman, the billionaire founder of Shift4 payments and raised over $200m for St. Judes’ Children’s Hospital.

Crew of Inspiration4 Mission. Credit: Inspiration4

Space Adventures

The year ended in what I consider to be the highlight. MZ and Yozo Hirano flew on a Space Adventures arranged flight to the International Space Station. They stayed on board for 11 days, completing the majority of a list of “100 things to do in space” suggested by members of the public, recording videos of their experiences and sharing them on YouTube.

MZ onboard the International Space Station. Credit: Yusaku Maezawa

2022

2022 promises to be an equally busy year, with a number of private spaceflights planned, and new vehicles continuing their development:

Blue Origin could fly six or more suborbital flight this year, with the first scheduled for late March.

In April, three private astronauts will fly on the SpaceX Dragon to the International Space Station.

The month of May should see the Boeing Starliner making a second attempt at an un-crewed demonstration mission to the International Space Station. If successful Boeing hope to launch with crew for the first time before the end of the year.

The enormous SpaceX Starship may well complete it’s first un-crewed orbital flight as well this year, if they are able to clear a few regulatory and technical hurdles.

And Virgin Galactic should attempt another flight or two, this time with paying passengers.

SpaceX Starship test stand. Credit: Nic Ansuini

The post Private spaceflight in 2022 first appeared on Space Adventures.

Yozo Hirano

Launch date: December 8, 2021

Time in space: 14 days

Born in Ehime Prefecture, Japan in 1985. Yozo joined ZOZO Co. Ltd shortly after graduating from university, in charge of management and casting director of the photography team. After leaving ZOZO, he started working as a producer and manager for MZ’s private projects, including filming for MZ’s youtube channel. On the ISS, Yozo was responsible for filming MZ during their stay.

The post first appeared on Space Adventures.

Yusaku Maezawa

Launch date: December 8, 2021

Time in space: 14 days

Yusaku Maezawa, or MZ. is a Japanese e-commerce entrepreneur and world renowned art collector. After high school he became a drummer in a rock band, and an avid record collector. His record collection became the foundation of his first company. His mail order business transformed into an online business, which lead him to own and run Start Today, a publicly traded online retail clothing business, which he eventually sold to Yahoo Japan in 2019.

His Contemporary Art Collection is considered one of the finest in the world, and includes works of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jeff Koons.

In September 2018 MZ announced his intention to fly on the SpaceX Starship, along with a number of guests, around the Moon in a project entitled #DearMoon. The flight is slated to take place no earlier than 2023.

MZ also has a strong social media following, and holds social media records, including for the most retweets. He uses his social media presence to promote his personal philanthropy, at one point giving away 1 million yen ($9,300) to over 1000 randomly selected followers.

The post first appeared on Space Adventures.

Space Adventures, Inc., the world’s leading space experiences company, announced the Russian Soyuz MS-20 carrying Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) and his production assistant, Yozo Hirano, successfully landed in Kazakhstan following their spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS). The duo’s journey lasted a total of 12 days under the command of Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.

“Once you are in space, you realize how much it is worth it by having this amazing experience,” Mr. Maezawa told the Associated Press during his trip. “And I believe that this amazing experience will lead to something else.”

From documenting everyday tasks such as brushing his teeth in space to sharing more personal reflections like the emotional moments of reading a favorite comic about space while in space, Mr. Maezawa continuously shared his experiences with his fans via his YouTube channel. As part of this mission, Mr. Maezawa crowdsourced ideas for things to do in space prior to his launch as part of his ‘100 Things You Want MZ To Do in Space’ campaign.

Mr. Maezawa will continue his ambition to spread awareness and interest in space travel to the public by acting as the host of the ‘dearMoon’ mission – a circumlunar flight onboard SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft currently scheduled to launch in 2023 – along with eight other passengers he invited.

Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures, Inc., said, “The completion of MZ’s spaceflight marks not only a milestone for him and Space Adventures but for the commercial spaceflight industry as a whole and humanity’s future in space. MZ’s mission comes at the tail end of a year that saw an incredible boom in space tourism and is set to usher in another wave of exploration.”

Space Adventures has been cooperating with Roscosmos since the world’s first space tourist flight in 2001. The successful completion of Mr. Maezawa and Mr. Hirano’s mission makes them the eighth and ninth private astronauts to have visited the space station with Space Adventures and the private first spaceflight participants from Japan.

About Yusaku Maezawa

Yusaku Maezawa, CEO of Start Today, Ltd., is a Japanese e-commerce entrepreneur and world-renowned art collector. He founded ZOZO, Ltd., a publicly traded online retail clothing business, which he sold to Yahoo! Japan in 2019. Along with the Soyuz MS-20 mission to the ISS, he also plans to participate in a circumlunar mission onboard SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft currently scheduled to launch in 2023.

About Yozo Hirano

Yozo Hirano joined ZOZO, Ltd. after graduating from university where he became the casting director of the photography team. Currently, he is working at SPACETODAY as a film producer. On the ISS, Mr. Hirano was responsible for documenting Mr. Maezawa’s mission.

About Space Adventures

Space Adventures organized the flights for the world’s first private astronauts (Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Greg Olsen, Anousheh Ansari, Charles Simonyi, Richard Garriott and Guy Laliberté) and today offers a variety of spaceflight missions to low-Earth orbit, the International Space Station, and beyond.

The post Space Adventures’ Clients, Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, Return From The ISS first appeared on Space Adventures.

Japanese entrepreneur and production assistant begin 12-day journey of a lifetime

Space Adventures, Inc., the world’s leading space experiences company, announced that Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) and his production assistant, Yozo Hirano, successfully launched on the Russian Soyuz MS-20 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome today beginning their 12-day journey in space under the command of Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.

In preparation for his flight to the International Space Station (ISS), Mr. Maezawa and his crew completed approximately three months of spaceflight training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. Shun Osigo also completed spaceflight training as a back-up crew member.

Furthering his intent to engage the world in the wonders of life in space, Mr. Maezawa crowdsourced ideas from the public for his ‘100 Things You Want MZ To Do in Space’ campaign – from flying paper airplanes to playing badminton with a cosmonaut – which he will share on his YouTube channel throughout his mission.

Along with his current mission arranged by Space Adventures, he will also be the host of the ‘dearMoon’ mission – a circumlunar flight onboard SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft currently scheduled to launch in 2023.

“During my spaceflight training, I’ve been eagerly looking forward to answering questions about life in space. As I prepare to launch, I am excited to share every aspect of my journey with everyone on Earth,” said Mr. Maezawa prior to launch. “I also see this trip as an opportunity to ready myself to be the best host possible when I, and eight talented crewmates from around the world, embark on the first civilian mission around the moon in 2023.”

Eric Anderson, Chairman and CEO of Space Adventures, Inc. said, “It’s been a year of incredible progress for commercial spaceflight. Today, we celebrate the launch of MZ, as well as Yozo, which marks Space Adventures’ first mission carrying two private citizens.”

“Space Adventures arranged the first private spaceflight in history for Dennis Tito in 2001. Now in the 20th anniversary year, Tito’s and Space Adventures’ cooperation to realize the first space tourist mission has paved the way for all space tourists since then, and to come. This year alone, the industry has seen numerous flights to space lasting a few minutes, a few days, or in MZ’s case, nearly two weeks. Humanity is opening up space for all, and its clear private spaceflight has a key role to play. We’re honored to be a part of this journey and to continue to expand the future of spaceflight,” Mr. Anderson concluded.

Space Adventures has been cooperating with Roscosmos since the world’s first space tourist flight in 2001. The successful launch of Mr. Maezawa and Mr. Hirano’s flight makes them the eighth and ninth private astronauts to have visited the space station and the first private spaceflight participants from Japan.

About Yusaku Maezawa
Yusaku Maezawa, CEO of Start Today, Ltd., is a Japanese e-commerce entrepreneur and world-renowned art collector. He founded ZOZO, Ltd., a publicly traded online retail clothing business, which he sold to Yahoo! Japan in 2019. Along with the Soyuz MS-20 mission to the ISS, he also plans to participate in a circumlunar mission onboard SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft currently scheduled to launch in 2023.

About Yozo Hirano
Yozo Hirano joined ZOZO, Ltd. after graduating from university where he became the casting director of the photography team. Currently, he is working at SPACETODAY as a film producer. On the ISS, Mr. Hirano will be responsible for documenting Mr. Maezawa’s mission.

About Space Adventures
Space Adventures organized the flights for the world’s first private astronauts (Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Greg Olsen, Anousheh Ansari, Charles Simonyi, Richard Garriott and Guy Laliberté) and today offers a variety of spaceflight missions to low-Earth orbit, the International Space Station, and beyond.

The post Space Adventures’ Clients, Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, Launch to ISS first appeared on Space Adventures.

International research collaboration designed to increase understanding of human adaptation to spaceflight

Space Adventures, Inc. and the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at Baylor College of Medicine announced today that human health and performance research will be a part of Yusaku Maezawa’s spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS) launching December 8 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The research, designed to increase the understanding of the impact of spaceflight on the human body, will be conducted by Yozo Hirano, a Japanese citizen, who will be accompanying Maezawa on his flight. Important biomedical data will be collected before launch and upon Hirano’s return to Earth.

“I am excited to participate in this research as it will help scientists reduce health risks for future space explorers,” said Yozo Hirano, spaceflight participant.

“We thank Yozo for his participation in the TRISH research. Private spaceflight participants have an important role in space medicine as they often have a different health profile to professional astronauts. Our work in partnership with space medicine experts is enabling people with mild health conditions to launch to space thereby improving our collective knowledge of how the body reacts to gravitational forces and weightlessness,” said Tom Shelley, president of Space Adventures.

About the Mission:
Yozo Hirano will be joining Yusaku Maezawa on his journey to the ISS, arranged by Space Adventures and in partnership with Roscosmos. Hirano will be documenting Maezawa’s experience during the 12 day-long mission. The Japanese spaceflight participants are scheduled to launch on the Soyuz MS-20 commanded by Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 8, 2021. Their experience in space will be shared on Maezawa’s YouTube channel.

Increasing human health and performance research on commercial spaceflight is the goal of TRISH’s EXPAND (Enhancing eXploration Platforms and ANalog Definition) program, which collects pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight health data and stores it in a centralized research database built by TrialX, which customized its existing software for space health research. Working with commercial spaceflight providers and its spaceflight participants and crew affords new opportunities to study the health and performance of space explorers, according to the NASA-funded research institute.

“The importance of having Mr. Hirano’s participation in the research for this mission cannot be overstated,” said Dorit Donoviel, TRISH executive director and professor of space medicine at Baylor. “The work we are doing to study the impact the human body faces in space will help future space explorers safely travel beyond Earth. TRISH is grateful for Mr. Hirano’s participation in this research to further human space exploration.”

Space Adventures and TRISH aim to broaden access to space biomedical research data. Anonymized data will be made accessible to researchers through an open data repository funded and overseen by TRISH at Baylor College of Medicine. Empowered by NASA’s Human Research Program, TRISH is a virtual institute that finds and funds disruptive and innovative science and medical technologies in order to reduce health and performance risks that space explorers face.

About the TRISH-sponsored research:
Before launch and after landing, the biomedical research aims include:
– Collection of research-grade ECG activity, movement, sleep, heart rate and rhythm, blood oxygen saturation.
– Performance of a series of tests in the cognition testing battery designed to assess changes in behavioral and cognitive performance. The cognitive test battery is used by astronauts in NASA-funded behavioral health research studies and is administered with the Joggle Research app (Pulsar Informatics Inc.) on an Apple iPad.
– Use of balance and perception tests pre-flight and post-flight to measure sensorimotor adaptation during changes of gravity. These tests are currently performed by U.S. astronauts before and after spaceflight; and
– Use of PlenOptika’s portable auto-refractor QuickSee device pre-flight and post-flight to collect relevant vision data pertaining to sight, yielding a high-value data set for future vision research in space.

About Space Adventures
Space Adventures organized the flights for the world’s first private astronauts and today offers a variety of space missions to low-earth orbit, the ISS and beyond. Space Adventures wants as many people to experience what it is like to live in space, to circle the Earth, or to travel beyond Earth orbit. In the next 10 years, Space Adventures clients will have a choice as to what vehicle to fly to space on, and will be able to choose from multiple different destinations.

About the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH)
Led by Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Space Medicine, TRISH is a consortium that includes partners Caltech and MIT. NASA recently awarded the institute a six-year extension to further its work by delivering disruptive solutions to mitigate biomedical risks for human exploration while advancing terrestrial health technologies. Learn more about TRISH at bcm.edu/spacehealth and follow the Institute on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@BCMSpaceHealth).

About Yozo Hirano

Yozo Hirano joined ZOZO, Ltd. after graduating from university where he became the casting director of the photography team. Currently, he is working at SPACETODAY as a film producer. On the ISS, Mr. Hirano will be responsible for documenting Mr. Maezawa’s mission.

The post Space Adventures’ Client to Participate in TRISH Research first appeared on Space Adventures.

Read more here.

The post Anousheh Ansari: A Woman Has Paid Her Own Way Into Space, Too first appeared on Space Adventures.

Read more.

The post Space Tourism: Then and Now first appeared on Space Adventures.

Read more.

The post Japanese billionaire gets ready for December space mission first appeared on Space Adventures.