At 12:09 am EDT (1609 GMT) on
Monday, Sept. 18, U.S. entrepreneur Anousheh
Ansari blasted off towards the International Space
Station (ISS) aboard a Soyuz
TMA-9 spacecraft, becoming the first woman to pay for a trip to into space.
Ansari will be
the fourth person to pay a purported 20 million dollars for the chance to spend
8 days aboard the ISS in a deal brokered between the space tourism firm Space
Adventures and the Russian Federal Space Agency. Ansari is preceded by Dennis Tito, Mark
Shuttleworth and Greg
Olsen.
Earlier this
year, Space Adventures announced that Ansari would be a backup for Daisuke Enomoto,
the Japanese businessman originally scheduled to be the next space tourist.
Enomoto was later found to have a medical condition that prevented him from
making the trip, and Ansari was elevated to the prime crew.
Even before
being confirmed for spaceflight, Ansari had an interest in space and human
spaceflight. In 2004, Ansari and other members of her family helped sponsor a
$10 million competition to build a reusable manned spacecraft. The contest was
later renamed the Ansari
X Prize in recognition of the family's contribution.
More recently,
the family launched their Texas-based
Prodea firm and agreed to partner with Space Adventures to develop the
tourism firm's Explorer spacecraft for suborbital flights from Singapore
and the United
Arab Emirates.
Below is SPACE.com's
archive of Ansari coverage. The stories will be presented in reverse
chronological order with the most recent updates at the top. Ansari also has a blog chronicling her adventure, which
she will update from space. This page was last updated on Nov. 2, 2006.
An
Orbital Adventure
Anousheh Ansari Honored with Portraits by Peter Max
The first female private space explorer, Anousheh Ansari, lit up a New York City Art Studio with her smiles, all 17 of them, earlier today.
Female Space Tourist Hopes for an Orbital Return
MOSCOW (AP) – Now that she's learned to walk in gravity again, American space tourist Anousheh Ansari has some things to take care of on Earth: developing a new company, promoting science and space travel, and spending time with her family.
Space Tourist's Blog Offers Insights
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- She says space smells like a "burned almond cookie.'' She praises the wonders of Velcro, and describes the hazards of trying to wash her hair in zero gravity.
Ansari, Expedition 13 Crew Return to Earth
A Russian spacecraft carrying two astronauts and the world's first female space tourist rocked safely back to Earth while dangling from parachutes today a few hours after casting off from the International Space Station (ISS).
Back to Earth: Expedition 13 Astronauts, Ansari to Leave ISS Today
Two astronauts and the world’s first female space tourist are set to cast off from the International Space Station (ISS) today and return to Earth.
Aboard ISS: Crew Swap Goes Well, Space Tourist Prepares for Return
Command of the International Space Station (ISS) changed hands between two astronaut crews Wednesday while Anousheh Ansari, the outpost’s paying visitor, made the most of her last full day in space.
Iranian
Women Look Up to Find Ansari
TEHRAN, Iran (AP)
-- Dozens of space travel enthusiasts, most of them women, burst into applause
at dawn at an observatory near the capital as the spacecraft carrying the first
Iranian woman to travel into space appeared in the sky.
Space
Station Chemical Leak Under Control
The toxic chemical
leak that caused a brief scare on the International Space
Station (ISS) earlier this week is under control and the malfunctioning
oxygen generator responsible for it will be replaced shortly, astronauts aboard
the orbital laboratory said today.
Fourth
Space Tourist, Expedition 14 Crew Docks at ISS
The world's first
female space tourist and the next crew of the International Space Station (ISS)
ended a two-day flight around the world aboard a Russian rocket today after
successfully docking with the orbital laboratory.
First
Female Space Tourist Says Hello to ISS Crew
CAPE CANAVERAL,
Fla. – A U.S. entrepreneur making history as the world’s
first female space tourist said hello to astronauts aboard the International Space
Station (ISS) early Tuesday while she and two professional spaceflyers continued their trek towards the orbital
laboratory.
OPINION:
Space 'Adventurers' Paving The Way For the Rest of Us
Ready for blast
off! Cue the music … For days now, I’ve been hearing the poignant song,
“Imagine” by John Lennon in my head every time I hear, read, or even think
about Anousheh
Ansari’s flight to the International Space Station. While reading her blog
today, I learned that the hauntingly beautiful song is actually one of her
favorites. That’s not really a surprise however; most of us space-lovers know
the relevance of that song to our cause.
Liftoff!
Fourth Space Tourist, New Crew Launches Toward Space Station
A Russian rocket
launched the world's fourth space tourist and two astronauts into orbit early
Monday morning on a two-day trip bound for the International Space
Station (ISS).
Preparing
for Launch
First
Female Space Tourist, Next ISS Crew Set to Launch
The world's first
female space tourist and a pair of professional astronauts will begin a two-day
journey towards the
International Space Station (ISS) early Monday, when their Russian rocket
blasts off from the steppes of Central Asia towards the orbital laboratory.
Interview
with Anousheh Ansari, the First Female Space Tourist
United States
entrepreneur Anousheh
Ansari has been training for six months to get away from it all. Unlike
most tourists,
she won't be sporting a camera around her neck, and come Monday she won't need
a boarding pass to get on her flight.
First
Female Space Tourist Readies for ISS Trip
STAR
CITY, Russia (AP) – Like millions of people fascinated by space, Anousheh Ansari
said Wednesday she remembers wondering as a child if somebody else like her
could be out there among the stars. Next month the Iranian-born U.S.
entrepreneur can get a closer look, as she rides a Russian capsule to the
International Space Station and becomes the first
female space tourist.
A
Ticket to Space
Anousheh
Ansari Looks to be Next Space Tourist
Russian space
engineers are re-fitting the Soyuz-TMA crew craft to accommodate U.S.
businesswoman Anousheh
Ansari who has replaced an ailing Japanese businessman to fly to the
International Space Station for a ten-day stint as a tourist, senior Russian
officials said.
Japanese
Space Tourist Pulled from ISS Flight for Medical Reasons
MOSCOW – A board of
Russian medics has deemed a Japanese businessman – who has been preparing to
travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as a tourist on board of a
Russian crew craft – unfit to fly to space, a Russian official said Monday.
The First Female
Space Tourist? U.S. Entrepreneur Determined to Reach Orbit
For U.S.
entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari, failure to
reach space is not an option.
Space Adventures Confirms
Fourth Space Tourist
Japanese
entrepreneur Daisuke 'Dice-K' Enomoto is officially confirmed to become the
world's fourth space tourist later this year, Space Adventures announced today.
Reports: X
Prize Sponsor May Become First Female Space Tourist
Several Russian
media reports, including some citing a high-ranking official in the country’s
Federal Space Agency, have stated that an agreement is in hand with U.S.
entrepreneur and X Prize sponsor Anousheh Ansari for a future trip to the
International Space Station (ISS).
Report of X
Prize Backer Ansari's Space Tourist Plans Not Official, Firm Says
A Russian report
claiming that U.S. entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari may become the first female
space tourist to the International Space Station (ISS) is far from official,
according to the only company that brokers private trips to the orbital
laboratory.
Related
Links
SpaceShipOne Wins $10 Million Ansari X Prize in
Historic 2nd Trip to Space
The cash designed to inspire
space travel was won Oct. 4, 2004 as SpaceShipOne, a privately built
three-person craft, made a required second flight above 62 miles (100 km). This
page serves as an archive and remains as it appeared shortly after the flight.
Spaceport
Singapore: One-Stop Shopping for the Future Space Tourist
SINGAPORE -– An
effort to build a suborbital spaceport destination to cater to space-hungry
tourists and families is pushing forward in Singapore, where aviation
authorities are developing a homegrown set of regulations for commercial
spaceflight.
Suborbital
Rocketship Fleet to Carry Tourists Spaceward in Style
With a fleet of rocketships and two spaceports on
the way, a high-flying tourism firm is taking passenger spaceflight to the next
level.
Exp. 12 | Exp. 11
| Exp.
13 | Mark Shuttleworth | Dennis Tito | Greg
Olsen
