From: Hal Finney (hal@finney.org)
Date: Mon Mar 25 2002 - 16:33:03 MST
Mark Shuttleworth, whom I met and had a drink with a couple of years ago
when we were on a crypto panel together, is scheduled to be the second
"space tourist" when he heads to the International Space Station on a
Russian Soyuz launch, April 25.
Shuttleworth founded the South African crypto certification company
Thawte, which was bought by Verisign for a reported $600 million.
Rumors are that the space mission is costing him something over
$20 million, a small part of his new fortune.
He has a web page, www.africaninspace.com, describing his preparations
and training in South Africa, Houston and Russia as the launch date
approaches. He has assembled a team of trainers, doctors and advisors
who are helping him get ready.
In related news, 'N Sync member Lance Bass recently travelled to Moscow
for medical exams to see if he is fit enough to go into space. Bass,
who gave up a dream of being an astronaut to become a singer instead,
may now get his boyhood wish. He could become the third tourist in
space, this fall.
Hal
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