Anousheh Ansari is Next Space Adventures Tourist

Posted on August 30, 2006

Anousheh Ansari will be the first female spaceflight participant to use Space Adventures unique service to travel to the International Space Station. The flight will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstanon September 14, 2006 en route to the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Expedition 14 crew members: NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin. Here are some press statements from Anousheh Ansari and from Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures.

"By reaching this dream I've had since childhood, I hope to tangibly demonstrate to young people all over the world that there is no limit to what they can accomplish," said Anousheh Ansari, chairman and co-founder of Prodea Systems, Inc., a revolutionary digital home technology company that is sponsoring her efforts. "I'm thankful to both Space Adventures and Dice-K Enomoto for providing me this opportunity."
"We are pleased to announce this historic event, the world's first female space tourist, and are overjoyed that Anousheh is ready for flight. She has been training diligently for several months now and has been certified for flight," said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures. "We celebrate Anousheh's dedication in her spaceflight preparations and wish her a successful and awe-inspiring mission."

Space Adventures has previously sent three private explorers to space: In 2001, American Dennis Tito; in 2002, the 'First African in Space' Mark Shuttleworth; and last October, American Greg Olsen.