An
Australian entrepreneur and self-described "thrillionaire" has signed on as the
backup space tourist for the next paid flight to the International Space
Station (ISS).
The
Virginia-based firm Space Adventures officially named financial strategist Nik
Halik as the backup crewmate to American space
tourist Richard Garriott, who is training for a planned October launch to
the ISS aboard a Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft.
Halik, 38,
is paying $3 million to train alongside Garriott as a backup spaceflyer.
"I am
thrilled to be chosen as Richard's backup," Halik said in a statement. "I have
dreamed of flying to space ever since I was a young boy."
Halik is
the founder of Financial Freedom Institute, Money Masters and other firms, and
penned the autobiography "The Thrillionaire" to be released in March.
He is a veteran
adventurer and has chased tornadoes across the U.S. Midwest, dived down to the
sunken wreck of the Titanic and led expeditions to Antarctica, Africa and the Amazon. Halik is also an experienced mountaineer with a planned Everest
climb set for next year, Space Adventures officials said.
As Garriott's
backup, Halik will participate in traditional spaceflight training
activities and will also be featured in a documentary television series, Space
Adventures officials have said.
"Through
his participation as a backup crew member, Nik will experience firsthand how
our clients train for spaceflight and he, himself, will be certified as a
'fully-trained cosmonaut' and will be named to an official space mission crew,
a distinction that less than 1,000 people have ever had," said Space Adventures
president and CEO Eric Anderson.
Space
Adventures is the only firm offering orbital flights for paying customers under
agreements with Russia's Federal Space Agency, which routinely launches Soyuz
spacecraft to ferry new crews to the ISS.
The last
backup space tourist, American
entrepreneur Anousheh Ansari, actually launched to the ISS in 2006 after
the prime spaceflyer — Japanese businessman Daisuke Enomoto — was unable to
fly.
Garriott, a
computer game developer, is the son of former NASA astronaut Owen
Garriott and will be the first second-generation U.S. spaceflyer when he
launches later this year. He is paying about $30 million for the experience.
Halik's $3
million payment to serve as Garriott's backup can also be used as a credit for
a future orbital or lunar
spaceflight, Anderson has said.
"Nik and I
have similar exploratory backgrounds and we'll have many stories to share
during our time together in Star City," said Garriott, referring to the home of
Russia's cosmonaut training center. "I look forward to train with him
because not only is it meant to prepare myself for flight, but also to prepare
Nik for his future flight. I definitely will be on-hand for his eventual
launch to space."
Halik,
meanwhile, said that is ultimate goal extends beyond Earth orbit.
"I watched
recordings of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon's surface and I vowed to
follow," Halik said. "The space station will be my first stop, with my eyes
focused on the moon."
Richard Garriott is chronicling his spaceflight training and
mission at his personal Web site: www.richardinspace.com.
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