Jinx put Lord British into space! (hope he doesn't need a moongate)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/10/12/space.tourist.ap/index.html


A Soyuz spacecraft with two Americans and a Russian on board lifted off from Kazakhstan on Sunday for the international space station.


The Soyuz TMA-13 capsule carrying American computer game millionaire Richard Garriott soared into a clear sky atop a Russian rocket as the latest paying space traveler's family watched from a viewing platform. Also aboard were U.S. astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov.

Garriott, a Texan who made his fortune designing computer fantasy games, dreamed of space as a child but learned as a youth that he could not become a NASA astronaut because of his poor eyesight. He paid a reported US$30 million for his voyage.

For those who didn't know, Garriott's dad was a NASA astronaut who flew on one of the Skylab missions in the early '70s; I'm trying to determine whether or not they're the first father and son to fly in space (though not necessarily together). Garriott also helped fund the X Prize awarded to the first civilian spaceflight in 2004.

Kind of interesting, isn't it, that if not for not quite having perfect vision, we never would've gotten the entire Ultima series - Garriott would've been busy elsewhere.

Hopefully the space station crew will greet him appropriately...

NAME?

JOB?

JOIN?

[calthaer]

Wired magazine did an article on Lord British and the training he had to go through:

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-09/ff_starcity

[roushimsx]

I'm trying to determine whether or not they're the first father and son to fly in space (though not necessarily together).

He's not, they're just the first American father and son astronauts. The dude coming back with him (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Aleksandrovich_Volkov) is the first second generation space traveler.

Kind of exciting to have both of them in the same reentry pod, coming back to earth at the same time. I mean, in a nerdy way and all. I think it's neat as fuck.

[rbudrick]

He's not, they're just the first American father and son astronauts. The dude coming back with him (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Aleksandrovich_Volkov) is the first second generation space traveler.

Kind of exciting to have both of them in the same reentry pod, coming back to earth at the same time. I mean, in a nerdy way and all. I think it's neat as fuck.


That is pretty cool. But has the guy coming back with him flown in space before? Because if not, if Garriot steps out of the pod first when they get back to Earth, the other guy would have been the first second generation astronaut, but Garriot would be the first second generation astronaut to set foot back on Earth while the other guy would be second, which would be neaterer than fuck. ;)

Or maybe just strange or dumb or something. A cool factoid nonetheless, either way it happens.

-Rob

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

The way the Soyuz capsules come down, I think it's a matter of "who gets peeled out of their seat by the landing site medical team first". Apparently the Soyuz' suspension needs some work...

[Aussie2B]

For some reason, I was under the impression that Lord British wasn't THAT mega-rich. But according to the Wired article, he did have to blow the vast majority of his money on this trip.

Absolutely loved that article. So hilarious from the Japanese millionaire wanting to dress up as an anime character in space, to the residents thinking they'd be better off sending monkeys, to the feces-splatted chamber, to the "Hail Lord British!" at the end. :) Great stuff.

[SegaAges]

Now all we need to do is push further out on these travels.

Don't these travels just put them in orbit and then they come back (maybe land on a space station). THAT'S NO MOON!

Get some civilians to the moon. Get some astronauts to mars.

Getting civilians in space is definately a cool step, and we might as well send Lord British!