Richard Garriott: Back-up Crew Member for Orbital Spaceflight Mission

Space Adventures, Ltd., the world’s leading space experiences company, has announced that for the first time the public will have the 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.”

Richard Garriott, innovative videogame developer and son of a former NASA astronaut, will join Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Greg Olsen, Anousheh Ansari and Charles Simonyi as one of the first private space explorers. He will begin spaceflight preparations after the first of the year for a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2008.

“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 $3,000,000 (USD) which includes the required spaceflight training costs, along with accommodations in Star City and other training locations. For more detailed information, please visit www.SpaceAdventures.com/backup.

“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.”

Garriott’s spaceflight is the first of a series of missions that will accommodate commercial activity aboard the ISS. Involvement from the private sector will include scientific and environmental research as well as educational outreach programming. Garriott is keeping a log on his mission to involve as many interested people as possible, that can be accessed at www.RichardInSpace.com.

via Press Release