Richard "Lord British" Garriott sure does make my inner-child jealous. First he becomes famous as a game designer, and now he gets to live out my other dream!?
PC gaming legend Richard Garriott announced that in Fall 2008, he’ll no longer be on this planet. Why? Because he’ll be in space! (The International Space Station, to be more exact.)
Part of the Space Adventures program, Richard will be the sixth private citizen to make the flight into space. Unlike many who may take such a trip as nothing more than a badass vacation, Richard is devoting his journey to science.
"I am dedicating my spaceflight to science," he said. "It is my goal to devote a significant amount of my time aboard the space station to science, engineering and educational projects. I understand the necessity for conducting research in extreme environments whether it is collecting microorganisms from deep sea hydrothermal vents to carrying out experiments in the continuous micro-gravity of Earth orbit." He continued, "We need to be adventurous in mind and simulate our intellects to answer today’s most daunting scientific questions and to invent tomorrow’s technological marvels."
What may come as no surprise is the fact that the first commercial partner for Richard’s flight is none other than ExtremoZyme, Inc., a biotechnology company founded by his father Owen, who also happens to be an ex-astronaut.
"Because of my career, it was almost natural for Richard to be interested in space and exploration. I am so pleased that he is able to embrace this himself and that he is dedicating his flight to research. am very proud of him," said Owen Garriott.
Interested gamers (or scientists, I suppose) can keep track of Richard’s planning for the trip, his mission, and all that other fun stuff via his website, http:/www.richardinspace.com.
