CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A South African millionaire is on the verge of signing a contract that would pave the way for him to become the second fare-paying tourist to visit the International Space Station.
But Mark Shuttleworth, a 28-year-old who made his fortune in the information technology business, said he plans to do more than gawk out the window during a weeklong trip to the station next April.
A series of experiments including one that focuses on stem cell research have been short-listed for the Soyuz taxi flight, the prime purpose of which will be to ferry a new emergency lifeboat to the station and then return to Earth in an identical vehicle now parked at the outpost.
"Shuttleworth will conduct several scientific experiments while in space in collaboration with South African and Russian researchers as well as participate in a national media campaign," spokesman Barak Geffen said.
The scientific research and the media campaign are aimed at generating student interest in math and science while attracting the youth of Africa to careers in high technology.
"I have always dreamed of space as a platform for inspiration, education and technology, and am working to realize that dream for South Africa," Shuttleworth said in a statement.
"I believe that Africa will emerge as a vibrant and successful global economic power this century, and I hope that our first foray into space helps people across the continent imagine the ways in which they can participate in that success."
A native of Cape Town, Shuttleworth currently is undergoing training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center outside Moscow, Geffen said. Shuttleworth signed a flight contract last Friday and Russian space officials are due to sign it on Wednesday.
A request to fly Shuttleworth on the so-called Soyuz swap-out mission was delivered to NASA space station project officials by Russian counterparts earlier this year.
Those same NASA officials have said they would not object to the flight if Shuttleworth meets all training requirements agreed to by the 16-nation station consortium.
The requirements were ironed out earlier this year by a multinational board the station partnership set up to establish training and medical criteria for all non-professional astronauts aiming to visit the station.
"Assuming that (Shuttleworth) meets the criteria and passes all the gates in the criteria, I dont suspect that well have any problems," NASA station project manager Tommy Holloway said at the time.
The NASA stance represents an about-face of sorts. The agency strenuously objected to California millionaire Dennis Titos flight to the international outpost last April because the station partnership had yet to agree on training and medical criteria for non-professional astronauts.
An investment manager, Tito launched to the station with two Russian cosmonauts in late April and spent six days at the outpost before returning to Earth.
Shuttleworth, meanwhile, plans to carry out an experiment aimed at gauging the effect of weightlessness on the development of stem cells, which are the first cells that the human body creates.
The cells later mature into skin cells, liver cells and brain cells, among others, and the experiment could hold the key to healing serious injuries in which cells in one part of the body have been damaged.
Shuttleworth will serve as a laboratory subject for a second experiment aimed at determining the effect of weightlessness on the human body. Hell be hooked up to sensors that enable researchers on the ground to monitor his heart rate and his muscular system during the mission.
A third experiment will involve growing protein crystals that could give scientists new insight into the development of new drugs to fight human disease.
The cost of the experiments, meanwhile, will be borne by Shuttleworth, who also hopes that his flight will inspire Africans to follow their dreams.
"This is the realization of a personal dream, a dream that started at the tip of Africa," the Internet tycoon said. "I hope it will inspire many of my fellow Africans, of all ages, to believe in the power of their dreams."
Operating out of his parents garage, Shuttleworth reportedly started a business in trading Internet security technologies with no financing. The U.S. firm Verisign bought the business last year. Shuttleworth earned an estimated $500 million on the deal.
The cost of his trip to the station: An estimated $10 to $20 million.
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