Google Founder Space-Bound

Describing themselves as “the only company that provides human space missions to the world marketplace,” Space Adventures Ltd have announced that Google co-founder Sergey Brin has made an investment in the company that will someday see him on a flight in to outer space.

Space Adventures announced on Wednesday the “Space Adventures’ Orbital Mission Explorers Circle.” The program allows for individuals to reserve seats for future orbital spaceflights, by placing a $5 million down payment on said flight.

“Space Adventures has established the Orbital Mission Explorers Circle to build a definitive consortium of future private space explorers who share a lifetime goal of orbital spaceflight or the investment therein,” Space Adventures said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures, in their official statement. “For successful CEOs, executives, investors, and entrepreneurs who know they want to travel to space, and want to invest in a future space mission slot, this is an excellent mechanism to preserve the option for such a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. We are very proud to have Sergey Brin lead this effort as the first Founding Explorer.”

The company will be using its own build of Soyuz rocket for private missions that are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2011. Space Adventures want to send at least one mission a year to the International Space Station, with two clients on board each flight.

"The Soyuz to be used for this mission shall be a specially manufactured craft, separate from the other Soyuz vehicles designated for the transportation of the ISS crews," Alexey B Krasnov of Russia's space agency said in a statement.

"This private mission, flying two Space Adventures' clients at once, will not interfere with the implementation of the ISS program or the obligations of the Russian space agency," he added. "On the contrary, it shall add flexibility and redundancy to our ISS transportation capabilities."

Brin, a Russian born American, co-founded Google with Larry Page, and is now estimated to be worth a total net of $18.7 billion. In addition, making him a perfect example of who Space Adventures is targeting, Brin is the fourth youngest billionaire in the world.

“I am a big believer in the exploration and commercial development of the space frontier, and am looking forward to the possibility of going into space,” said Mr. Brin. “Space Adventures helped open the space frontier to private citizens and thus pave the way for the personal spaceflight industry. The Orbital Mission Explorers Circle enables me to make an immediate investment while preserving the option to participate in a future spaceflight.”

Posted by Josh Hill.

Related Galaxy posts:

Google Joins MIT in Search for Earth-like Planets
A Holistic View of the Cosmos -Videos of Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope & Google Sky
New SETI Observatory Created by Microsoft Co-founder
Google “Sky”—New Virtual Telescope Using NASA Hubble Images Plans to Turn Millions into Stargazers
Chile's Atacama Desert -World's Space-Observatory Mecca
Google Prepared to Spend More on Green Energy than U.S. Gov't

http://www.spaceadventures.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.viewnews&newsid=615

Story Link

Comments

[jer35mx]

Well, I can visualize a cartoon of the cosmonauts watching the inners of the "special" Soyuz capsule for the "clients" and watching like a Geenie hall of her bottle type of accomodations and a person saying them "No, that's not your ship, yours is that way" and showing them the normal capsule for them.