SIMONYI TAKES A SECOND VOYAGE OUT OF THIS WORLD

Sara Thopson - Mar 30, 2009
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Hungarian-born billionaire became the first private space traveller to return to space. Probably, it is his last trip.

Billions of people around the globe dream about having more money. However, few people are faced with the problem of having so much money that it becomes challenging to know what to do with it. One of them is the Hungarian-born US citizen and Microsoft computer genius Charles Simonyi, who is currently enjoying his second voyage into space. He is the first ever private person to enter space for the second time, at a cost of a mere $35 million. It may seem a hefty sum to many, yet to a genius who helped to develop Word and Excel, it should be worth every cent.

Perhaps Mr. Simonyi was in hurry to get back to space, as there will be no more seats for tourists soon. There are plans to raise the number of crew for the ISS from three to six from May, meaning that there will be no more room for tourists. It is a case of striking while the iron is hot.

Mr. Simonyi shall return to earth on April 7. Admittedly, there may be people more interested in space travel than he is elsewhere in the world but $35 million is certainly not simply pocket money. There have been question marks raised about the motivation he has for such a trip, whether it is a publicity stunt for Microsoft or if it is out of personal pleasure. His new Swedish wife certainly thinks he is doing it for pleasure, yet admits to being a little nervous about the voyage. Simonyi"s trip is the seventh by a space tourist since the programme was launched in 2001.

 

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