Ex-Microsoft Developer Plans Trip to Space

[Mark Reiff <markreiff@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

FYI,

"Ex-Microsoft Developer Plans Trip to Space: Report"
Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060403/sc_nm/space_tourist_dc_1

: A former software developer at U.S. giant Microsoft could make a
: trip to the International Space Station next year aboard a Russian
: rocket, the RIA news agency reported on Monday.

: Hungarian-born Charles Simonyi, who was one of the key developers
: behind applications such as Microsoft Word, would become the
: world's fifth "space tourist."

: "A preliminary contract with Simonyi has been concluded for spring
: 2007," Alexei Krasnov, head of manned spaceflight programs at
: Russian space agency Roskosmos, told RIA.

: Simonyi now runs Intentional Software, which he co-founded in
: 2002. He is also an experienced pilot.

: Japanese entrepreneur Daisuke Enomoto is in training and is
: expected to fly later this year.

: At the moment space tourists take off with a two-man Russian-U.S.
: crew in a Soyuz rocket, spend just over a week at the space
: station and return to earth with the outgoing crew. The trip comes
: with a reported price tag of $20 million.

: Russia can also sell spare seats on its spacecraft to governments.
: Brazil's first astronaut Marcos Pontes arrived at the station on
: Saturday.

------------

"Ex-Microsoft Developer Considers Space Trip - Architect of Word
could be fifth paying passenger to station, Russians say"
MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12131844/from/RSS

: A former software developer at Microsoft could make a trip to the
: international space station next year aboard a Russian rocket, the
: RIA news agency reported Monday.

: Hungarian-born Charles Simonyi, who was one of the key developers
: behind applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel, would become
: the world's fifth paying space passenger.

: "We can tell you, however, that Space Adventures has more than a
: dozen clients from several countries who desire to fly and plan to
: participate in our orbital program over the next several years."

: California millionaire Dennis Tito was the first to take such a
: trip, back in 2001, followed by South African Internet tycoon Mark
: Shuttleworth in 2002 and New Jersey scientist-entrepreneur Greg
: Olsen in 2005. Japanese entrepreneur Daisuke "Dice-K" Enomoto is
: currently in training for a flight to the space station and is
: expected to fly later this year.

: Simonyi, 57, is listed on Forbes magazine's survey of
: billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $1 billion. He
: retired from Microsoft in 2002 to co-found Intentional Software,
: where he serves as president and chief executive officer. He also
: has established the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences.

: Simonyi, a Seattle-area resident, is an experienced pilot. He has
: also been romantically linked with domestic magnate Martha Stewart
: in the gossip columns. Simonyi accompanied Stewart on a recent
: zero-gravity flight, and in a narrated video of the outing, she
: referred to Simonyi as "my friend Charles."

: At one point in the video, Simonyi could be seen dancing in
: weightlessness with Stewart. "Charles is a great dancer — he's
: never danced quite like that before," Stewart said in her
: narration.

--
Mark Reiff <markreiff@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


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