Former
Microsoft developer Charles Simonyi is one step closer to achieving his dream
of visiting the International Space Station after a Russian medical review
board recently green-lighted him for spaceflight, the orbital tourism company
Space Adventures announced last Thursday.
The medical
review board of the Russian
Federation, called
the Government Medical Commission (GMK), convened on Aug. 8 to review Simonyi's
general medical condition and fitness.
A date for
Simonyi's launch has not been announced yet, but it will come after the planned
September launch of Japanese entrepreneur Daisuke Enomoto,
who is currently training
for his trip to the ISS with the Expedition 14 astronaut crew.
"I'm
looking forward to continue to work with the medical team during my training
period, and, of course, looking forward to the incredible experience that I'll
be training for," Simonyi said.
The
58-year-old American and co-founder of Intentional Software Corp. will ride
aboard a Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS, where he will spend eight
days.
Eric
Anderson, the president and CEO of Space Adventures president, said that
Simonyi has already started some training for his mission.
"He's
not in full fleshed cosmonaut training yet, although he's been approved for all
training and flight," Anderson told
SPACE.com.
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 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.
Space
Adventures also recently announced plans for $100 million trips around the Moon, and
spacewalks
for wealthy space tourists prepared to shell out an additional $15 million
dollars on top of their $20 million dollar space ticket.
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