Richard Garriott has made history in two ways. First, he is probably the only true gamer (Garriott is the developer of the popular Ultima Online RPG games) that has ever gone into space.
Second, he now carries the distinction of being the only second generation astronaut in history. His father, Owen Garriott, was a NASA astronaut and boarded Spacelab in 1973 and 1983.
Richard Garriott launched into space on Sunday atop a Soyuz TMA spacecraft and is headed towards the International Space Station.
Garriott said in a prepared statement that, "Today, my dream of following in my father’s footsteps to explore new frontiers is being realized. Throughout my life, my sense of adventure has taken me to the ends of the earth to embark on journeys few people have encountered. It’s with honor and appreciation that I launch on my greatest adventure yet, and step into a role assumed by only five private individuals before me."
The trip to the International Space Station won’t be all fun and games. Garriott will conduct scientific experiments and shoot photographs of specific regions of Earth in order to compare them to photos shot 35 years ago by his father. The study will be done to see what ecological differences have transpired during the past 3.5 decades.
[via informationweek]
