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Space
Adventures, a leading space experiences company, is offering to the
public for the first time, the coveted opportunity to train as a private space
explorer alongside one of its orbital spaceflight candidates, and among professional
astronauts.
"Participation as an official back-up crew member is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an individual, or a company sponsoring an individual,
to experience first-hand how our clients train for spaceflight," said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures.
"It is with great
enthusiasm that we, along with Richard, offer this position to a member of the public. The individual selected will be someone who not only
has a genuine interest in human spaceflight, but also one who is able to be an active participant in Richard's mission, to include being
featured in a documentary TV series."
Famed game developer and son of former NASA astronaut, Richard Garriott, currently planning a mission to the International Space Station
(ISS) in October 2008, will begin spaceflight preparations after the first of the year.
"I want to involve as many people as possible in my mission and this is one of the most innovative ways to do so," said Richard Garriott. "I
encourage anyone who has ever dreamed of traveling to space to contact to Space Adventures. Not only will the back-up crew member be
certified as a 'fully-trained cosmonaut' and be named to an official space mission crew, a distinction that less than 1,000 people have ever
had; but, our combined participation is a step forward in the progression of our expansion into the cosmos."
"The back-up crew member's financial investment into this program can be credited in-full toward a future orbital or lunar spaceflight
mission," added Mr. Anderson. The price of the program is
US$3,000,000 which includes the required spaceflight training costs, along
with accommodations in Star City and other training locations.
"If I had not trained as a back-up crew member in 2006, then I would never have flown to space that year," said Anousheh Ansari, Space
Adventures' fourth orbital client and first female spaceflight participant to launch to the ISS. "The training was exhilarating and ultimately
prepared me for my flight which I'm thankful for."
Mr. Garriott's spaceflight is the first in a series of missions that will accommodate commercial activity aboard the ISS. Involvement from the
private sector will range from scientific and environmental research to educational outreach programming.
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