South African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth is ready to roar off into space on Thursday. About to be shoehorned into a Soyuz taxicraft headed for the International Space Station, the Internet mogul plopped down some $20 million for his seat, joining a veteran cosmonaut and an Italian astronaut for a 10-day space trek.
The Soyuz-U carrier rocket, topped by the Soyuz TM-34, was wheeled out today in early morning hours Tuesday, hauled out to a launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on railroad tracks.
Shuttleworth has undergone months of intensive training, both in Russia as well as at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Traveling light
The South African is traveling light. Shuttleworth's space luggage includes computer gear and select personal items from friends and family.
But to avoid ruffling his space feathers, don't call the 28-year old South African a space tourist. He has invested additional dollars to shape his own space science and education program. Shuttleworth will conduct experiments in space designed by South African scientists, with Russian collaboration and assistance.
Shuttleworth and his associates have also created "Hip2B2" - a media campaign that aims to inspire South Africa's youth to focus on math and science studies. The "hip to be square" initiative centers on perseverance, commitment and hard work. Those are the key elements to succeed and turn dreams into reality, Shuttleworth points out.
"I'm trying very hard to do serious work up there," Shuttleworth told SPACE.com in an earlier interview. "My greatest concern is being in a position to do good work and not be a burden on the space station crew," he said.
Ever-growing outpost
Commander of the Taxi-3 mission to the ISS is Yuri Gidzenko. The cosmonaut is no stranger to the ISS, spending some 140 days in 2000-2001 as a member of the first ISS crew on the Expedition-1 mission. Gidzenko will also be the first person to revisit and live aboard the ever-growing orbiting outpost.
"My commander was a member of the very first ISS crew," Shuttleworth said. "Even for him, things have improved. He can see ways in which systems have improved and changed, just in the few station crews that have gone between his first flight and our flight now," he said.
Joining space veteran Gidzenko and rookie Shuttleworth for the voyage is European Space Agency astronaut, Roberto Vittori of the Italian Space Agency. This will also be his first outer space outing.
"We're working very much as a crew. We've got a tremendous amount of good friendship and bonding going on. And that also contributes a lot to feeling comfortable in situations nominal and off-nominal," Shuttleworth said.
Their three-person spacecraft will replace the Soyuz 'lifeboat' currently attached to the ISS. Mission safety rules call for Soyuz craft to be swapped after six months in orbit to ensure the rescue craft is always in tip-top, ready-for-action shape. Gidzenko, Shuttleworth and Vittori will return to Earth in the older Soyuz vehicle.
The three visitors to ISS will stay onboard the facility for eight days, joining the resident crew - Expedition Four commander, Russian Yuri Onufrienko and U.S. flight engineers Dan Bursch and Carl Walz.
Science in space
Italy's Vittori will oversee four European experiments. These will look at the forces involved in moving around in microgravity and the effects on humans of cosmic particles during long missions, assess newly developed clothing, and test a non-intrusive blood pressure monitoring device.
Shuttleworth has manifested a series of experiments to be performed during his 10-day space flight. One experiment will assess the impact of microgravity on the development of stem cells and embryos. Another is to determine the physiological effect on the cardiovascular system and muscles from prolonged weightlessness. A third is to attempt to create HIV proteins in microgravity in the hopes that, when the crystallized proteins are X-rayed, they may yield an accurate view of the virus structure.
South African scientists from the Universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Port Elizabeth, are managing these experiments in collaboration with Russian space-science experts.
Shuttleworth also plans to use Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) hardware. ARISS officials are providing Shuttleworth and his First African in Space team the ability to link-up via the radio gear to communicate with South African schoolchildren and others back on Earth.
Cash-for-contrail
In plunking down private money for his Soyuz sendoff, Shuttleworth joins an exclusive cash-for-contrail rocket club.
Last year, California millionaire, Dennis Tito paid for a Soyuz ride, becoming the first pay-per-view guest aboard the International Space Station.
Waiting in the wings for a possible Soyuz hop in the future is 'Nsync's Lance Bass, as well as "AstroMom", Lori Garver, a former NASA space policy chief, and now a space expert at DFI International in Washington, D.C. She is actively engaged in a campaign to raise travel funds.
"Shuttleworth is to be commended for taking this once in a lifetime opportunity and using it to further interest in space in South Africa," Garver told SPACE.com. "The doors to space are being opened. There are many flights in the coming years and regardless of who takes the next Soyuz, I'm thrilled that the Russian Space Agency, NASA and the international partners are working together to make space the domain of all peoplefor science, for education, for commercialization and for inspiration," she said.
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