Plans Orbital Spaceflight Scientific Mission With Space Adventures

Space Adventures tells ANN that Charles Simonyi has signed a contract for a future orbital spaceflight. The company, which organized the spaceflights to the International Space Station (ISS) for the world's first private explorers Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth and Greg Olsen, disclosed that Mr. Simonyi has already completed preliminary training and medical examinations as part of the program’s qualification process.

In conjunction with the Federal Space Agency and the Rocket Space Corporation Energia, Space Adventures continues its commitment to opening the final frontier for private citizens.

Earlier this year, Daisuke (Dice-K) Enomoto began cosmonaut training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia for his currently planned September 2006 expedition to the ISS.

Charles Simonyi, founder of Intentional Software, commented, "Like with any long term plan, I had to make reservations. A lot of training and work remains to be done before such a flight can be consummated. My immediate goal for the flight would be to study Russian and American engineering approaches and to learn from the experience."

"Mr. Simonyi is a true visionary, one of the leading technology entrepreneurs in the world. He was a major contributor to the dawn of the computer age by creating software applications that are now used by millions of people each and every day," said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures.

"He is also a seasoned pilot and very knowledgeable about aerospace technology and aviation. It has been an honor to work with Mr. Simonyi and we look forward to his initiation of training and eventual launch."

"I have always dreamed of the wonder of spaceflight and the exploration of space has always inspired me. I consider my future flight to be a small part of an important trend to make space accessible to more people, not just to experts. I am very much in favor of commercial space travel which promises to advance technology just like commercial aviation did many years ago. With that said, my primary focus remains with my company, Intentional Software," continued Mr. Simonyi.

More details regarding Mr. Simonyi's scheduled flight date, commencement of spaceflight training and specific mission objectives will be announced in the coming months.

Space Adventures, the only company to have successfully launched private explorers to space, is headquartered in Vienna, Va. with offices in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Moscow and Tokyo. It offers a variety of programs such as the availability today for orbital spaceflight missions to the International Space Station, commercial missions around the moon, Zero-Gravity and MiG flights, cosmonaut training, spaceflight qualification programs and reservations on future suborbital spacecrafts.

The company's advisory board comprises Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, shuttle astronauts Kathy Thornton, Robert (Hoot) Gibson, Charles Walker, Norm Thagard, Sam Durrance, Byron Lichtenberg, Pierre Thuot and Skylab astronaut Owen Garriott.

FMI: www.spaceadventures.com