SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
THE FOLLOWING WAS TAKEN FROM THE ARRL WEEKLY LETTER
==>NEXT CIVILIAN SPACE TRAVELER IS AMATEUR RADIO-READY
The next civilian space traveler is Amateur Radio ready. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) http://www.rac.ca/ariss reports that software pioneer and aviator Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP, plans to talk with students at three schools during his stay in space. He also may make casual contacts. Simonyi, 58, is set to head into space April 7 on a Soyuz "taxi mission" to the ISS. He'll accompany Expedition 15 Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin, RN3FI, and Oleg Kotov. They'll join US astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB. As a client of Vienna, Virginia-based Space Adventures Ltd http://www.spaceadventures.com, Simonyi will pay $25 million for the privilege. He's been undergoing pre-flight training at Star City, Russia. During his eight-day stay aboard the ISS, he will conduct experiments on behalf of several international space agencies.
"I am fascinated by the technologies utilized by the American and Russian space programs," Simonyi said. "As an engineer, I look forward to studying the different engineering approaches." Simonyi obtained his Technician ticket in December.
Space Adventures says Simonyi's mission goals are to advance civilian space travel, assist with space station research and involve youth in the science of space travel. He established his space flight Web site http://www.charlesinspace.com/ to chronicle his training experiences.
A native of Hungary, Simonyi earned a bachelor's degree in engineering and mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University. Over the years, he's been associated with Xerox and with Microsoft, where he oversaw the teams that developed the company's Excel, Multiplan, Word and other applications.
After leaving Microsoft in 2002, Simonyi founded Intentional Software Corporation, a software engineering company. The following year, he founded the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences to support arts organizations, science programs and educational institutions.
Simonyi began his cosmonaut training in September. As part of his multi-faceted training at Star City, he has learned how to use the ARISS gear aboard the ISS.
Space Adventures organized the flights for the world's first private space explorers, Dennis Tito, KG6FZX, Mark Shuttleworth, Greg Olsen, KC2ONX, and Anousheh Ansari. "We wish Charles well and we look forward with great anticipation to his launch," said Space Adventures President and CEO Eric Anderson.