Shuttleworth Headed for Orbit
Game shows reach for the stars
by Alan Breakstone
By Alan Breakstone
Mark Shuttleworth, the 28-year-old South African dot-com millionaire, has signed a contract with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency for a seat aboard a Soyuz spacecraft bound for Space Station Alpha
. He will be the second paying passenger to orbit the earth, following
Dennis Tito
's historic space tourist flight in 2001. Shuttleworth's flight is scheduled for April 2002 (see http://www.africaninspace.com/). Space Adventures, who helped to arrange Tito's flight, is also arranging Shuttleworth's venture.
With Tito's flight, the Russians proved that a private citizen could visit Alpha without hindering a scientific mission. In an about-face from its hostility toward Tito, NASA has tentatively approved Shuttleworth's flight, apparently bowing to the inevitable.
So far, the only ways for a private citizen to experience outer space are to join the Russian cosmonaut training program at the cost of $20 million or win a trip through a competition. MirCorp is currently negotiating with two television production companies for development of "Survivor"-style game shows whose winners would fly a Soyuz into orbit (see http://www.space.com/news/mircorp_gameshow_011121.html).
Mark Shuttleworth, the 28-year-old South African dot-com millionaire, has signed a contract with the Russian Aviation and Space Agency for a seat aboard a Soyuz spacecraft bound for Space Station Alpha
. He will be the second paying passenger to orbit the earth, following
Dennis Tito's historic space tourist flight in 2001. Shuttleworth's flight is scheduled for April 2002 (see http://www.africaninspace.com/). Space Adventures, who helped to arrange Tito's flight, is also arranging Shuttleworth's venture. With Tito's flight, the Russians proved that a private citizen could visit Alpha without hindering a scientific mission. In an about-face from its hostility toward Tito, NASA
has tentatively approved Shuttleworth's flight, apparently bowing to the inevitable. So far, the only ways for a private citizen to experience outer space are to join the Russian cosmonaut training program at the cost of $20 million or win a trip through a competition. MirCorp
is currently negotiating with two television production companies for development of "Survivor"-style game shows whose winners would fly a Soyuz into orbit (see http://www.space.com/news/mircorp_gameshow_011121.html). 