17 April 2008
Other - Tourism (Good)
Space Tourist to Sell Photographs
He can see your house from here
by Carol Pinchefsky



Richard Garriot will be boarding the International Space Station in October after spending months in training, as well as millions of dollars.

But Garriot won’t be kicking back to enjoy the view: he’ll be enjoying the view and taking pictures. And for $500, he will take a photograph of your location of choice on Earth. He will be able to accommodate 200 people.

With his Nikon D3, Garriot will be testing software developed by the Technical Education Research Centers (TERC) and the Association of Space Explorers (ASE). This software is “designed to simulate the actual view out of particular windows on the ISS, with targets for photography clearly marked,” according to collectSPACE, the website dedicated to the collaboration with Garriot.

The website says that only latitudes between 53 degrees north and south are eligible, but it strongly recommends photos of North America for best results. Unless the flight is cancelled, the cost of the photograph is non-refundable, but Garriot will substitute the photo of your location with a different photo taken by him during his stay.

For 200 photos at $500 each, Garriot will have earned $100,000 of the $20 million needed to for a second trip.
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Carol Pinchefsky 17 April 2008
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