Microsoft millionaire Charles Simonyi will be returning to the
International Space Station in the spring of 2009 after two years on
terra firma. The news, announced this morning by Space Adventures, will
make Simonyi the first private space explorer to go to space twice
— and in less time than most professional astronauts.
Simonyi, who has been captivated by space since he was a boy growing
up in Hungary, joined Microsoft in 1981 and helped develop Microsoft
Word and Excel. An avid pilot, he used his 2,000 hours of flying to
help him train for his 10-day space mission. He launched on the Russian
Soyuz rocket in April 2007 and dedicated his flight to advancing
civilian spaceflight, supporting space station research and involving
kids in the science of space travel.
Meanwhile, game designer and son of astronaut Owen Garriott, Richard
Garriott is preparing for his October 12 launch to the Space Station,
which includes outreach through the Challenger Centers and of course, Stephen Colbert's DNA in the Immortality Drive.
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