Giant leap for a clown, a bit more fun for the ISS
Published 30 September, 2009, 12:05
Edited 30 September, 2009, 16:01
Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft carrying the crew of the 21st ISS mission and first ever clown to go into space – Canadian billionaire and circus entrepreneur Guy Laliberte – has blasted off from the Baikonur launch pad.
US astronaut Jeffrey Williams, Russian cosmonaut Maxim Surayev and Canadian space tourist Laliberte, are scheduled to reach the International Space Station on Friday, October 2.
“I’m not a doctor, I’m not a scientist, or an engineer – I’m just a clown, an artist, who wants to go to space very much. My mission consists of trying to bring a poetic message to space,” said Laliberte, who reportedly paid around $35 million for his space adventure.
Billionaire Laliberte’s costly “vacation” also has an element of charity to it. He wants to raise awareness about the problem of access to clean water in the world.
“Like anything I’m doing on Earth, I try to maximize every dollar that I invest,” Laliberte declares.
His poetic message from space will be broadcast live around the globe in a live TV show on October 9. The show brings together prominent politicians and artists like Al Gore, Peter Gabriel, Shakira, Salma Hayek, U2 and the Cirque du Soleil. It is aimed at raising awareness about equal access to clean water.
Among other things Laliberte plans to do in space is to tickle the crew while they’re asleep.
The professional crew with whom Guy will share twelve days in space have had months of training classes to get used to his sense of humor.
Now they are often described as a dream team: with Laliberte – the funny guy, Surayev – the superman, and Williams – the wise man.
Surayev took up scuba diving, went kilometer and a half down a mine, and has been an airplane pilot. The only place he hasn’t been to yet is outer space, while Williams – on the contrary – has been to space twice already.
Williams and Surayev will replace their colleagues Michael Barratt and Gennady Padalka, who will return to Earth with Laliberte on October 11.
The billionaire buffoon could be the last space tourist in years to come. The American shuttle will be retired next year, and the Soyuz rocket will be too busy to carry tourists.
However, the Space Adventures agency, which handles the fees for the flights, says they are going to get a separate Soyuz specially for tourists.
Meanwhile, Williams and Surayev will spend about half-a-year in orbit and carry out a number of tasks, including the unloading of three Russian Progress space freighters and a spacewalk to install a Russian MIM-2 scientific module.
They will also conduct 48 scientific experiments and work with crews of three US space shuttles which are scheduled to arrive at the orbital station in the next six months.
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