Software billionaire books 2nd trip to space

Last Updated: Thursday, October 2, 2008 | 10:53 AM ET

CBC News

U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi, top, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov wave just before the launch of the Soyuz TMA-10 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in April. Simonyi is planning a return trip to the International Space Station. (Sergey Ponomarev/Associated Press)

Software billionaire Charles Simonyi, the fifth private traveller or "space tourist" to visit the International Space Station, is poised to become the first to make a return trip.

Vienna, Va.-based Space Adventures, the company that brokers the trips with Russia's space agency, announced Wednesday the 60-year-old Simonyi intends to train with a Russian crew preparing for a spring mission to the orbiting station.

Simonyi flew aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS on a 13-day mission in April 2007.

"Having a repeat orbital client demonstrates to the world that participating in a space mission is truly a magnificent and awe-inspiring experience," said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures in a statement.

Simonyi, who who now runs his own company, made his fortune while working at Microsoft, where he developed some of its most profitable programs, such as Word and Excel.

He reportedly paid Space Adventures $25 million US to make the first trip. Space Adventures did not say how much the second trip would cost.

The next civilian scheduled to make a trip aboard a Russian rocket to the space station is video game pioneer Richard Garriott, the son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriott. He is due to fly to the space station on Oct. 12.

Stay Connected with CBC News

Big Box Advertisement

Top News Headlines

Bob Rae quits as MP in 'very emotional' decision

Bob Rae quits as MP in 'very emotional' decision: Bob Rae, who has represented the Toronto Centre riding for the Liberals since 2008, is stepping down as a Member of Parliament to devote more time to his work as a negotiator for First Nations in Northern Ontario. more »

Obesity called a disease by U.S. doctors group: The American Medical Association has voted to recognize obesity as a disease, while doctors in Canada say they also treat it as such. more »
Neil Macdonald: Washington's obsession with leakers: Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are just the most prominent targets in an all-out legal and propaganda campaign that America's security apparatus is mounting against leakers everywhere, Neil Macdonald writes. more »
How open is Ottawa's new 'open data' website?: Treasury Board President Tony Clement is touting the federal government's revamped data portal as a "new natural resource." But that online window for previously published data arrives at the same time the government faces controversy over just how open it really is. more »
30,000 Canadians are homeless every night: A new national report into homelessness in this country tells a grim story — at least 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness in any given year and least 30,000 Canadians are homeless on any given night. more »

Must Watch

Latest Technology & Science News Headlines

How open is Ottawa's new 'open data' website?

How open is Ottawa's new 'open data' website?: Treasury Board President Tony Clement is touting the federal government's revamped data portal as a "new natural resource." But that online window for previously published data arrives at the same time the government faces controversy over just how open it really is. more »

'Tweet' gets 21st century update in Oxford dictionary: Tweeting in the social-networking sense has become so pervasive that the Oxford English Dictionary has broken one of its own rules to add new meanings for "tweet" as both a noun and a verb. more »
B.C. backcountry mobile maps cause concern: The BC Search and Rescue Association is raising concerns about a set of free, high-resolution topographical backcountry maps released by the provincial government on Tuesday. more »
High levels of radiation found in groundwater at Fukushima: High levels of a toxic substance called strontium-90 are found in groundwater at the devastated Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan — coming to light even as the country moves closer to bringing its nuclear reactors back online. more »
Crowdfunding websites trying to cash in on crowded field: Success stories make it seem like crowdfunding websites drop cash from the heavens on to any deserving idea. But regulators and big banks are now taking a closer look at the controversial new field, Dianne Buckner writes. more »

More Headlines »

Bob McDonald's Blog

After Hadfield, who's the next Canadian in space? Jun. 13, 2013 12:01 PM Canada's singing astronaut announced his retirement this week, leaving Jeremy Hansen and David Saint-Jacques to fill his space boots. But there is no date set for when the next Canadian will fly in space.

Quirks & Quarks

June 22: How to Build a Brain Jun. 19, 2013 10:42 AM Scientists are embarking on ambitious projects to understand the incredible complexity of the human brain and to simulate it in a computer. They hope it will help us understand mental disorders, as well as the nature of thought, memory, and conciousness.