William Atkins
Tuesday, 14 October 2008 21:33
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 2
International space tourist and Texas video game billionaire Richard Garriott has made the International Space Station his kingdom for the next ten days, and for a mere US $30 million.
Garriott paid the Russian government an estimated $30 million for a trip on the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft and a 10-day stay at the world's most expensive hotel, the International Space Station.
With Garriott and two professional astronauts onboard, the Soyuz spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Soyuz-FG rocket lifted the spacecraft and crew at 0701 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), 3:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on Sunday, October 12, 2008.
A little over two days later, the spacecraft docked to the ISS at 0838 UTC, 4:38 a.m. EDT, on Tuesday, October 14, 2008.
The Soyuz spacecraft carried spaceflight participant Garriott, along with his entourage of NASA astronaut and ISS Expedition 18 commander
Edward Michael “Mike” Fincke and Russian cosmonaut and ISS Expedition 18 flight engineer
Yury Valentinovich Lonchakov.
Lonchakov exclaimed as the docking was accomplished,
"We have capture!" [Space.com: "
New Crew, Space Tourist Arrive at Space Station"]
For more information on Lord British and his dad, a former NASA astronaut, please read page two.
