Sergey Brin (center, full head of hair) prepares for an orbital vacation aboard Zero G’s aircraft.
Google Founder Brin Visits Russian Space Cosmodrome
Reuters
“Google co-founder Sergey Brin, considering going into space on a private flight, made a surprise visit to Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome on Saturday to wish good luck to a fellow space tourist.
“Richard Garriott, a U.S. computer game developer and Brin’s friend, is due to blast off into orbit aboard Russia’s Soyuz spaceship on Sunday at 1:03 p.m. (0503 GMT) alongside U.S. astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov.
“Brin, a native of Moscow, arrived at the sprawling Soviet-era complex along with Garriott’s friends and family members to cheer for the success of his journey to the International Space Station.”
Sergey’s Space Obsession
Valley Wag
“Stop him before — whoops, too late. Over the weekend, Google cofounder Sergey Brin flew to Kazakhstan to meet with fellow space traveler Richard Garriott, better known as Lord British in the online game Ultima.”
Space Adventures, a company that has made millions selling orbital joyrides to people worth billions, is trying to ensure that its wealthy clients get a bit more respect.
The Virginia company that pioneered space tourism is rebranding its elite clientele as “space explorers,” pointing to the experiments that they conduct while vacationing aboard the International Space Station. In the process, the company is trying to leave its label as a “space tourism” outfit behind.
“Space tourism isn’t the right word for what we do,” Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson told Popular Mechanics. “It’s something more. What we’re doing is opening a new frontier. … We’re no longer exclusively a space tourism company, we’re a space mission company.”
Space Adventures kicked off its rebranding effort in earnest last week with the announcement that it would begin charting Soyuz flights to ISS beginning in 2011. The company currently flies tourists as the third passenger on regularly scheduled, government financed missions to the orbital outpost. The charter flights would be commercially funded, carrying a commander and two paying customers.
Google Founder Sergey Brin will likely be aboard the inaugural 2011 flight. He invested $5 million in Space Adventures, money that serves as a downpayment on a flight and makes him the charter member of the brand new Orbital Mission Explorer’s Circle. This exclusive club will have only seven members.
The rebranding effort has been ongoing for some time. Space Adventures’ client Anousheh Ansari, who flew to the space station, gave an interview to Space Future back in April in which she bristled at the label of “space tourist.” Ansari believes the six months of training made her more than just a tourist, even though she is not a professional astronaut.
Google Co-Founder Brin to Fly; Invests $5 Million to Join Exclusive Club of One
Space Adventures announced a deal with the Russian Space Agency on Wednesday to charter one Soyuz flight annually to the International Space Station beginning in 2011.
The flights will include one Russian cosmonaut and two paying tourists. Previously, space tourists have occupied the third seat on flights that swapped out older Soyuz vehicles attached to the station. The privately-funded mission will be conducted outside of the normal rotation of spacecraft and crews to and from the orbiting outpost, officials said.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin may occupy one of the two tourist seats on the 2011 flight. He has invested $5 million in Space Adventures, money that serves as a down payment on a space fight. The flight will apparently cost in excess of $35 million.
Brin is now the founding (and, to date, only) member of the new Orbital Mission Explorers Circle, which represent an effort “to build a definitive consortium of future private space explorers who share a lifetime goal of orbital spaceflight or the investment therein,” Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson said. The circle will eventually include six members.
Continue reading ‘In ‘Paradigm’ Shift, Space Adventures Sells Two Tickets on Same Soyuz Flight’
