A glance at space tourists past and present

Submitted by admin on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 16:10

As Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte prepares for his trip to the International Space Station, here's a look at the colorful men and one woman who have purchased seats on Russian space flights.

DENNIS TITO: This California multimillionaire blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in April 2001 to become the 415th person in space — and the first one to pay for doing it. He reportedly wrote a $20 million check for the eight-day trip. Tito, who was 60 when he flew to space, had a degree in astronautics, but made a fortune in investment management.

MARK SHUTTLEWORTH: In 2002, the South African software millionaire spent 11 days aboard the space station, where he had a radio conversation with Nelson Mandela and politely rejected a marriage proposal from a terminally ill 14-year old South African girl.

GREGORY OLSEN: The Brooklyn-born developer of optoelectronic devices used ham radio to communicate to astronomy students during his October 2005 flight aboard the ISS.

ANOUSHEH ANSARI: The Iranian-born U.S. telecoms millionaire became the first Muslim woman in space and used her flight to inspire young women in the Middle East and Islamic world. Her fashion decision to wear an Iranian flag next to the U.S. flag on her uniform triggered diplomatic concerns. She ended up wearing only the colors of the Iranian flag.

CHARLES SIMONYI: The Hungarian-born former Microsoft executive generated a burst of media buzz before his April 2007 flight when his girlfriend, domestic doyenne Martha Stewart, visited Baikonur to wave him goodbye. Simonyi returned to the cosmodrome and the ISS for the second time in March 2009, but this time with his new wife, Swedish socialite Lisa Persdotter.

RICHARD GARRIOTT: the sixth space tourist, a video game designer, reportedly paid $30 million for his October 2008 flight, during which he shot the first feature film in space, "Apogee of Fear." Garriott used his five crew mates as principal actors for the film, which has not yet been released.

SERGEY BRIN: In line for a Soyuz flight is the Russian-born Google co-founder and billionaire. He reportedly paid a $5 million deposit for his proposed 2011 flight to the ISS, though, owing the grounding of the U.S. space shuttle fleet, it's unclear whether Brin will ever get his ride on the Soyuz.