The Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Monday that Roskosmos has signed a contract for the next orbital space tourist to visit the ISS: former Microsoft executive Charles Simonyi. The Hungarian born Simonyi joined Microsoft in 1981 and oversaw development of some of the software giant’s most famous applications, Word and Excel. He left Microsoft in 2002 a very wealthy man, and has donated tens of millions of dollars to various organizations, so he certainly has the money to pay the estimated $20 million for an orbital spaceflight. Simonyi would fly on the spring 2007 Soyuz taxi flight, after this fall’s flight of the next orbital space tourist, Daisuke “Dice-K” Enomoto. (Reuters has a few more details about the agreement.)
The announcement is a little surprising, since most speculation regarding who would be next to fly after Enomoto centered around Anousheh Ansari, who is in training in Russia right now as Enomoto’s backup. A RIA Novosti article from Saturday, announcing the formal signing of Enomoto’s contract, did quote a Roskosmos official, discussing plans to fly “another American” tourist in 2007, as saying “We have signed a preliminary contract with him for the spring of 2007 but he may decide to fly later.” The “him” appears to be Simonyi, and would of course have ruled out Ansari.
Space Adventures, which has brokered the three orbital tourist flights to ISS to date, plus Enomoto’s upcoming mission, has yet to issue a formal release. That could mean that Simonyi made his deal through an alternative arrangement, or that they’re simply preparing to make an announcement. (UPDATE: Space Adventures issued a press release late Monday afternoon confirming the deal but setting no timetable for the flight.)
[…] A Space Adventures press release today marking the fifth anniversary of Dennis Tito’s flight to the ISS claims that the company’s “efforts in offering commercial seats to the public have resulted in $120 million (USD) worth of orbital spaceflight sales.” The company has so far flown or signed up five people—Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Greg Olsen, Daisuke (Dice-K) Enomoto, and Charles Simonyi—but using the widely-reported “list price” of $20 million a set, that adds up to only $100 million. Has Space Adventures signed up a sixth, as-yet-unannounced tourist? (Remember that prior to the Simonyi announcement earlier this month, Anousheh Ansari had been considered by many to be the next tourist after Enomoto, given that she was training in Russia to be his backup.) Or is the list price actually higher than $20 million: at least $24 million or higher (given that it’s widely believed that Tito paid less than $20 million for his flight)? […]