Lord British blasts off

THE WORLD'S only company which offers trips into space, ‘Space Adventures’ has successfully blasted games designer Richard Garriott into space.

Garriott – who developed the Ultima series of RPGs – and his crew boarded the Soyuz TMA spacecraft yesterday before launching into the great unknown.

Soyuz TMA: Here am I sitting in my tin can

Garriott’s mission, which cost him a cool $30 million, is to rocket to the International Space Station accompanied by the Expedition 18 crew including NASA astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov.

Son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, Richard has undergone extensive cosmonaut-training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

This amazing mission marks Garriott as the world’s 1st second-generation astronaut.

“Today, my dream of following in my father’s footsteps to explore new frontiers is being realised,” he explained. "Throughout my life, my sense of adventure has taken me to the ends of the Earth to embark on journeys few people have encountered. It’s with honor and appreciation that I launch on my greatest adventure yet, and step into a role assumed by only five private individuals before me.”

Garriott says that this flight is dedicated not only to scientific and environmental research but also to educate and excite students on pursuing life-long dreams.

Space Adventures has been launching those who can afford it into space since 2001, beginning with Dennis Tito who was followed by four other wannabe astronauts.

Eric Anderson of Space Adventures said, “It has always been Space Adventures’ goal to open the space frontier. With Richard’s launch today, we are not only continuing to demonstrate the viability of civilian space travel, but also the potential for commercial opportunities during our clients’ space missions.” Anderson continued, “Richard’s efforts while on the ISS will be making an important contribution to the future of human permanence in space.” µ

L'Inq
Space Adventures