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Inami Noriaki (he/him) was born in Japan in 1977. In 2002, he was hit by a car while walking in Los Angeles. The doctors amputated his left leg, and he now walks with a prosthetic.

Inami started playing wheelchair basketball, and won the wheelchair basketball championship in Japan. The championship match was watched by the Emperor of Japan, and he was able to meet and talk with the Emperor.

He then joined IBM as a system engineer.

In 2005, Inami applied for space travel with Virgin Galactic, and was selected as one of the company's first space travelers. He was the youngest space traveler at Galactic at the time.

In 2007, Inami successfully completed 6G gravity training at a space training centrifuge. In 2009, he completed zero gravity training onboard a parabolic flight. With his space flight now close ahead, he is living an exciting life every day.

Inami says: "My mission is to show that people with disabilities can also go to space, and just as importantly -- not just go to space, but operate successfully and effectively in space ."