Japan's First Space Tourist Hopeful Grounded by Medical Failure

A Russian space agency spokesman confirmed Monday that Daisuke Enomoto, a 35-year-old Japanese internet entrepreneur, has been barred from his planned September spaceflight after failing a medical evaluation. Roskosmos spokesperson Igor Panarin cited confidentiality in declining to explain the specific findings.

Enomoto had committed roughly 20 million dollars for a stay aboard the International Space Station and trained intensively in Russia. A future flight remains possible pending further medical steps, Panarin noted.

American Anousheh Ansari will likely fill his seat on the Soyuz capsule launching 14 September from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome. Previous paying space travelers include Dennis Tito (2001), Mark Shuttleworth (2002), and Greg Olsen (2005).

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in August 2006, in its own words.