Next Space Tourist Takes Break from Spaceflight Training

By Tariq Malik

NEW YORK - The next space tourist bound for the International Space Station (ISS) is taking a breather from spaceflight training as he prepares to ride a Russian rocket toward the orbiting laboratory later this year.

American computer game developer Richard Garriott, 46, has returned to the U.S. after an intense six weeks of Russian classes and Soyuz spacecraft training for his planned October flight to the ISS. The one-month rest comes between a series of trips to Russia's cosmonaut training center in Star City, where he and backup Nik Halik have been wading through the intricacies of Soyuz spaceflight.

"In the Soyuz, all of the buttons and things are labeled in Russian, so you need to be able to read and understand a few technical words," Garriott told SPACE.com Friday, adding that he spent four hours each day learning the new language. "There's no question that learning Russian is a little bit of a challenge."

Based in Austin, Texas, Garriott is paying about $30 million to fly to the ISS with two professional astronauts in October under an agreement between Russia's Federal Space Agency and the Virginia-based tourism firm Space Adventures, which brokered the flight. He plans to conduct Earth observations and protein crystal growth experiments during his mission and launched an educational contest for British students to devise their own tests that he could perform.

In between language lessons, Garriott and Halik spent four hours each day studying Soyuz spacecraft training manuals and exploring Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

"One of the things that I didn't know was there while we were kicking around was that they have a wonderful planetarium," Garriott said, adding that he and Halik hope to visit the planetarium during their next training session. "It's a surprisingly open place."

The two entrepreneurs were careful to keep out of restricted zones and adhere to training protocol. Russian space officials recently replaced South Korea's first astronaut choice, artificial intelligence expert Ko San, for an April 8 launch due to regulation infractions. Ko's backup, female mechanical engineer Yi So-yeon, will take his place during the upcoming spaceflight.

Halik, 38, is an Australian entrepreneur who is paying $3 million to serve as Garriott's backup and experience genuine spaceflight training.

"Though Nik and I had not really known each other before training together in Star City, it turns out we've lived very parallel lives," said Garriott, adding that both he and his backup have taken adventure trips to Antarctica, rode aboard submersibles down to the wreck of the Titanic, experienced weightless on aircraft and flown Russian MiG jets. "Because we have that same adventurous spirit and similar background, training together has been actually really convenient and also given us a well-rounded opportunity to share this experience together."

Garriott developed the Ultima computer game series and co-founded the Origins Systems computer game company as well as the North American branch of the online game developer NCsoft. He hopes to spend his month off from training to catching up with his work. But, Garriott added, he did happen to be in Russia training for spaceflight in early February, when his most recent game "Tabula Rasa" hit stores in Moscow in its Russian packaging.

"Getting a chance to sit down with the players was actually great fun for me and hopefully they enjoyed it as well," Garriott said.

Garriott has expressed an interest in paying an extra $15 million to stage the first spacewalk by a private spaceflyer, though whether the activity could come together in time for his flight is up in the air. He has already been fitted for his Russian Sokol spacesuit, the partial pressure garment that he will wear during launch and landing, but not one worthy of a spacewalk.

"Of course I would love to do it if it could be done," said Garriott, adding that he hopes to put together some sort of simple, feasible science experiment in case it opportunity arises.

Garriott will be the sixth paying visitor to the ISS, but the first American second-generation spaceflyer to reach orbit. His father, Owen Garriott, is a retired NASA astronaut who flew aboard the U.S. Skylab space station and shuttle Columbia, and will serve as chief scientist for the coming spaceflight.

"One of the more interesting aspects of working with my father on this flight is what an appreciation it's given me for the challenges that my dad faced during his time with NASA," the younger Garriott said. "The sense of urgency to get all your ducks in a row and get things lined up appropriately has been high."

Richard Garriott is chronicling his spaceflight training and mission at his personal Web site: www.richardinspace.com.

Next Space Tourist Takes Break from Spaceflight Training

 

NEW YORK - The next space tourist bound for the International Space Station (ISS) is taking a breather from spaceflight training as he prepares to ride a Russian rocket toward the orbiting laboratory later this year.

American computer game developer Richard Garriott, 46, has returned to the U.S. after an intense six weeks of Russian classes and Soyuz spacecraft training for his planned October flight to the ISS. The one-month rest comes between a series of trips to Russia's cosmonaut training center in Star City, where he and backup Nik Halik have been wading through the intricacies of Soyuz spaceflight.

"In the Soyuz, all of the buttons and things are labeled in Russian, so you need to be able to read and understand a few technical words," Garriott told SPACE.com Friday, adding that he spent four hours each day learning the new language. "There's no question that learning Russian is a little bit of a challenge."

Based in Austin, Texas, Garriott is paying about $30 million to fly to the ISS with two professional astronauts in October under an agreement between Russia's Federal Space Agency and the Virginia-based tourism firm Space Adventures, which brokered the flight. He plans to conduct Earth observations and protein crystal growth experiments during his mission and launched an educational contest for British students to devise their own tests that he could perform.

In between language lessons, Garriott and Halik spent four hours each day studying Soyuz spacecraft training manuals and exploring Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

"One of the things that I didn't know was there while we were kicking around was that they have a wonderful planetarium," Garriott said, adding that he and Halik hope to visit the planetarium during their next training session. "It's a surprisingly open place."

The two entrepreneurs were careful to keep out of restricted zones and adhere to training protocol. Russian space officials recently replaced South Korea's first astronaut choice, artificial intelligence expert Ko San, for an April 8 launch due to regulation infractions. Ko's backup, female mechanical engineer Yi So-yeon, will take his place during the upcoming spaceflight.

Halik, 38, is an Australian entrepreneur who is paying $3 million to serve as Garriott's backup and experience genuine spaceflight training.

"Though Nik and I had not really known each other before training together in Star City, it turns out we've lived very parallel lives," said Garriott, adding that both he and his backup have taken adventure trips to Antarctica, rode aboard submersibles down to the wreck of the Titanic, experienced weightless on aircraft and flown Russian MiG jets. "Because we have that same adventurous spirit and similar background, training together has been actually really convenient and also given us a well-rounded opportunity to share this experience together."

Garriott developed the Ultima computer game series and co-founded the Origins Systems computer game company as well as the North American branch of the online game developer NCsoft. He hopes to spend his month off from training to catching up with his work. But, Garriott added, he did happen to be in Russia training for spaceflight in early February, when his most recent game "Tabula Rasa" hit stores in Moscow in its Russian packaging.

"Getting a chance to sit down with the players was actually great fun for me and hopefully they enjoyed it as well," Garriott said.

Garriott has expressed an interest in paying an extra $15 million to stage the first spacewalk by a private spaceflyer, though whether the activity could come together in time for his flight is up in the air. He has already been fitted for his Russian Sokol spacesuit, the partial pressure garment that he will wear during launch and landing, but not one worthy of a spacewalk.

"Of course I would love to do it if it could be done," said Garriott, adding that he hopes to put together some sort of simple, feasible science experiment in case it opportunity arises.

Garriott will be the sixth paying visitor to the ISS, but the first American second-generation spaceflyer to reach orbit. His father, Owen Garriott, is a retired NASA astronaut who flew aboard the U.S. Skylab space station and shuttle Columbia, and will serve as chief scientist for the coming spaceflight.

"One of the more interesting aspects of working with my father on this flight is what an appreciation it's given me for the challenges that my dad faced during his time with NASA," the younger Garriott said. "The sense of urgency to get all your ducks in a row and get things lined up appropriately has been high."

Richard Garriott is chronicling his spaceflight training and mission at his personal Web site: www.richardinspace.com.

Ticket to ride - The Washington Times

Richard Garriott always knew he would fly into space. But unlike his astronaut father, his less-than-perfect eyesight dashed any hope of a government mission.


So Mr. Garriott turned to the private sector, where $30 million bought him a ticket aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station in the coming October.


As the sixth amateur to make the trek, he hopes to prove that 10 days orbiting the Earth is worth such a considerable price tag.


"I'm personally a big believer [that] if there is justification for people being in space, then it sure ought to pay dividends commensurate with the investment put into it," said Mr. Garriott, 36, a Texas-based multimillionaire who founded and sold several computer game companies.


His father, astronaut-scientist Owen Garriott, spent more than 20 years at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, completing two spaceflights in his career. Now, decades later, Richard Garriott's mission is being booked by Space Adventures Ltd., a Vienna, Va., company that buys extra seats on Russian spacecraft headed to the International Space Station.


Space Adventures has sent five private citizens into space. American businessman Dennis Tito in 2001 was the first. Software pioneer Charles Simonyi was the most recent one, lifting off this spring.


Mr. Garriott has the unmistakable credentials of an adrenaline junkie. He participates in sky diving, hang gliding, caving and rock climbing. His thirst for terrestrial exploration has taken him to the depths of the ocean to study bacteria on hydrothermal vents, and to Antarctica to search for meteorites.


But Mr. Garriott said he is more than a space tourist. He has long been an investor in space privatization and sits on the board of Space Adventures. To demonstrate the commercial value of private spaceflight, he plans to conduct several scientific experiments in space that, unlike NASA-sponsored research, are focused on making a profit.

source: http://washingtontimes.com
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First female space tourist blasts into space (Roundup)

Moscow - The world's first female space tourist Anousheh Ansari launched from Kazakhstan on a Russian Soyuz rocket Monday, heading to the International Space Station (ISS) with the orbiter's new crew.


Ansari, 40, an Iranian-American telecommunications entrepreneur, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and American astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria blasted off punctually at 10:08 a.m. (0408 GMT) from the Baikonur space centre, Russian mission control said.

Meanwhile, there was concern about the appearance of smoke or vapours on the ISS, apparently emanating from a faulty oxygen generator.

Authorities told the three-man crew to don protective suits with goggles, but said the situation was under control.

'The situation on the ISS is normal, there is not danger, and certainly no fears for the safety of the crew, Roskosmos space agency spokesman Igor Panarin told the Interfax news agency.

The incoming Soyuz is due to dock with the space station early Wednesday. Commander Tyurin and Lopez-Alegria will serve on the ISS for six months while Ansari should return to earth on September 28 with the station's departing crew.

The businesswoman went through the lift-off eyes wide, as footage from NASA, the US space agency, showed. Worried that she was becoming overexcited, Russian controllers told her professional companions to calm her as they embarked on the two-day journey to the station.

'If she carries on turning her head so frantically it may affect how she feels and spoil her first days in orbit, and we want her to receive maximum enjoyment from the flight,' flight director Vladimir Solovyov said.

As the Soyuz rose for nine minutes into its designated orbit Ansari's mascot for the trip, a small toy badger, swung on a string from the capsule ceiling above her. The amateur space traveller gave a smile of wonderment as it then began to float in the conditions of weightlessness.

Ansari, who left Iran at age 16 and is now a US citizen living in Dallas, was preceded in space by three other so-called space tourists, all men.

Paying some 20 million US dollars for the trip, she says she hopes her life and space voyage will inspire young people worldwide, 'especially women and girls.'

During her eight-day stay, she will conduct scientific experiments for the European Space Agency ESA into the effects of anaemia and backache in zero gravity.

The ISS is currently crewed by three people. While German Thomas Reiter will stay on board until later in the year, Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and American Jeffrey Williams will be busy with cleaning chores during their last hours in orbit, officials said.

The new crew, which is the station's 14th, will have an especially intensive programme.

Four space walks are planned for their stay, during one of which Tyurin will drive a golf ball as part of an advertisement for a Canadian company. The stunt was to have been filmed by the current crew but was postponed amid safety worries.

Three unmanned progress supply ships and at least one US space shuttle are also due to dock at the ISS in the coming months.

To make way for the approaching Soyuz capsule carrying Ansari, the shuttle Atlantis undocked from the station Sunday after completing three spacewalks to install a truss and two solar arrays on the orbital outpost. It is scheduled to land in Florida Wednesday.

The Soyuz will now orbit the planet 22 times as it move into the same flight path as the ISS, which flies around 400 kilometres above the earth. The capsule is due to dock at 0525 GMT Wednesday.

The journey is the culmination of a lifetime of interest in space for Ansari. After selling her Internet company Telecom Technologies in 2001 for 750 million dollars, she was in a position to lend serious clout to efforts to develop private space flight.

She and her family provided sponsorship for the Ansari X Prize, and a ten-million-dollar award for the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned craft into space twice in two weeks. This feat was accomplished by designer Burt Rutan in 2004.
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Russian space tourism update

An RIA Novosti article today reports that “more than 10 people” are interested in buying seats on Soyuz flights, following in the footsteps of the five orbital space tourists to date. “We are holding preliminary consultations with them, and there are no Russians among them,” said Roskosmos spokesman Igor Panarin. He also confirmed past reports that the cost of s Soyuz flight was going up from $20 million to $21.8 million, although many news reports of Charles Simonyi’s ISS flight pegged the cost as high as $25 million.
Russian space tourism update

U.S.A. Billionaire Heads to Space Station

A Russian rocket carrying the American billionaire who helped develop Microsoft Word roared into the night skies over Kazakhstan Saturday, sending Charles Simonyi and two cosmonauts soaring into orbit on a two-day journey to the international space station.
Climbing on a column of smoke and fire into the clouds over the bleak steppes, the Soyuz TMA-10 capsule lifted off at 11:31 p.m. local time, casting an orange glow over the Baikonur cosmodrome and dozens of officials and well-wishers watching from about a mile away.
The capsule turned northeast and moved downrange before entering orbit about 10 minutes later. It was scheduled to rendezvous with the station Monday.

Among those bidding farewell was Simonyi's friend Martha Stewart, who watched the launch from a location separate from other spectators.

After seeing Simonyi off for final preparations, Stewart spent the final hours before the launch aboard another mode of transportation common to this part of Kazakhstan's steppes - a camel.

"The ride was excellent," she said.

Inside the capsule, Simonyi and cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov grinned for the onboard camera, gave the thumbs-up sign and batted at a toy black cat hanging from rope - a token of good luck chosen by Kotov and named after his two children.

Simonyi, a 58-year-old native of Hungary, paid $25 million for the 13-day trip, the fifth such paying "space tourist," or "space flight participant," as officials prefer to call them.

"I think for Charles it is a dream come true," said Victoria Scott, a friend who watched the liftoff as others drank champagne toasts and chanted "Charles! Charles!"

In a posting on the blog he intends to maintain while in orbit, Simonyi said he spent his final day getting a haircut and a therapeutic massage and watched a traditional showing of a classic Soviet-era war film.

There was no mention of Stewart on the blog, but Simonyi did make reference to one of the lesser-known, last-minute traditions for cosmonauts heading into space - urinating on the tire of the bus transporting them to the launch-pad.

Three days after arriving at the station and greeting its current occupants - Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and American astronauts Miguel Lopez-Alegria and Sunita Williams - Simonyi will treat the crews to a gourmet meal, chosen by Stewart, in honor of Cosmonauts' Day, the Russian day commemorating Yuri Gagarin's historic 1961 flight into space.

The menu includes quail roasted in Madiran wine, duck breast confit with capers, shredded chicken parmentier, apple fondant pieces, rice pudding with candied fruit, and semolina cake with dried apricots.

Simonyi had said he would bring with him the paper computer tapes that he used decades ago when he first learned programming on a bulky Soviet machine called Ural-2. He emigrated to the United States in 1968 and eventually worked at Microsoft Corp., helping to develop Word and Microsoft Excel before founding his own software company.

While at the space station, Simonyi will be conducting a number of experiments, including measuring radiation levels and studying biological organisms inside the lab.

He is to return to Earth on April 20 along with Tyurin and Lopez-Alegria.

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Associated Press Writer Jim Heintz contributed to this report from Mission Control in Korolyov, Russia.