Former
Microsoft software developer Charles Simonyi is set to become a space
tourist for a visit to the International Space Station (ISS), the orbital tourism
firm Space Adventures said Monday.
Simonyi, a
58-year-old American and co-founder of Intentional Software Corp., will ride a
Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS for a one-week science mission aboard
orbital laboratory, Space Adventures said, adding that a contract for the
spaceflight is in hand.
The Russian
news agency RIA Novosti also reported today that Simonyi had signed a
preliminary contract with Russia's Federal Space Agency for a Spring 2007 spaceflight
though the Virginia-based Space Adventures did not specify a target launch date
in their statement.
Simonyi's
flight, however, must wait until after the planned September 2006 launch of
Japanese entrepreneur Daisuke Enomoto,
who is currently training
to rocket toward the ISS with the Expedition 14 astronaut crew later this year.
Enomoto's space station visit was also brokered by Space Adventures.
"Like with
any long term plan, I had to make reservations," Simonyi said in a statement. "A
lot of training and work remains to be done before such a flight can be consummated."
Simonyi has
completed a preliminary training regime and undergone medical examinations to
qualify for a Soyuz ride to the ISS, Space Adventures said.
Born in
Budapest, Hungary, Simonyi joined Microsoft in 1981, where he served as
director of application development, chief architect and ultimately
distinguished engineer, according to his corporate profile. He studied
engineering mathematics at the University of California at Berkley before earning
a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University. Simonyi co-founded
Intentional Software Corp. with Gregor Kiczales in 2002.
Space Adventures
CEO Eric Anderson said Simonyi is an accomplished pilot and well-versed in aviation
and aerospace technology.
"I have always
dreamed of the wonder of spaceflight and the exploration of space has always
inspired me," Simonyi said, adding that he believes in the pursuit of ever-more
accessible commercial spaceflight. "I consider my future flight to be a small
part of an important trend to make space accessible to more people, not just to
experts."
Space
Adventures has brokered ISS-bound flights for American businessmen Dennis Tito and Gregory
Olsen, South African Internet entrepreneur Mark
Shuttleworth and most recently Enomoto. Each of those private spacefarers paid
a reported $20 million for a 10-day spaceflight, eight of which are spent
inside the space station.
In addition
to arranging space station flights aboard Soyuz spacecraft for those who can
afford it, Space Adventures also offers jet rides aboard Russian MiG aircraft
and airplane flights that simulate weightlessness. The space tourism firm is
also developing plans for $100 million trips around the Moon, and
plans to build fleet of suborbital spaceships to launch from spaceports in the United
Arab Emirates and Singapore.
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