Former Microsoft programmer Dr Charles Simonyi has signed up for a holiday on the International Space Station
A former Microsoft exec has paid $20m for a trip into space

Former Microsoft exec pays $20m for space holiday

It looks like you're trying to dock a space craft, would you like help with that?

Iain Thomson

Former Microsoft programmer Dr Charles Simonyi has signed up for a holiday on the International Space Station.

The 51 year-old programmer, who was instrumental in the creation of Microsoft's Word and Excel packages, has handed over $20m for the trip and has begun training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City ready for launching in September.

Advertisement

"Like with any long-term plan, I had to make reservations," said Dr Simonyi, who is currently head of development firm Intentional Software.

"I have always dreamed of the wonder of spaceflight, and the exploration of space has always inspired me. I consider my future flight to be a small part of an important trend to make space accessible to more people, not just to experts. "

The Hungarian-born programmer will be the fifth space tourist since the International Space Station opened in 1998.

American businessman Dennis Tito, scientist Gregory Olsen and South African Mark Shuttleworth have already been up, and Japanese businessman Daisuke Enomoto will become the fourth later this year.

"Dr Simonyi is a true visionary and one of the leading technology entrepreneurs in the world," said Eric Anderson, president of Space Ad ventures, which organises the trips into orbit.

"He was a major contributor to the dawn of the computer age by creating software applications that are now used by millions of people every day.

"He is also a seasoned pilot and very knowledgeable about aerospace technology and aviation. It has been an honour to work with Dr Simonyi and we look forward to his initiation of training and eventual launch."

Dr Simonyi already has a pilot's licence and has said he is looking forward to using his software skills on the trip.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Share

Tags:

Do you agree?

Further reading

Third civilian signs up for orbit

US scientist pays £11m for a trip into history

First podcast received from space

Broadcaster with the best view in the world

Blogs in space target aliens

To boldly blog where no-one has blogged before

Related whitepapers

Related jobs

Most watched

iPhone

Video Review: iPhone 3GS

We put Apple's latest iPhone through its paces

V3.co.uk weekly debrief, 5 Feb 2010

This week we cover the continuing controversy surrounding the Orange T-Mobile deal

Analysis and Reports

Using managed services to protect mobile data users from the latest security threats

Counting the cost of data security: the benefits of secured mobile services

Shifting Disaster Recovery targets with SharePoint and SQL server configurations

Using a hostbased recovery system for mission-critical systems

Poll

Adobe Flash poll

Adobe Flash poll

Do you agree with Steve Jobs about Flash being buggy?

View poll results

Advertisement

White paper library

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; IThound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Job of the week

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Hiring now on ComputingCareers:

Related IT jobs

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Advertisement

Spotlight

Windows 7

Microsoft denies Windows 7 battery problems

Replacement warning functioning normally, claims software giant

Safer Internet Day

Safer Internet Day highlights online threats

Annual initiative warns of phishing, ID theft and social network...

AMD Fusion

AMD details Fusion innovations at ISSCC

Forthcoming chip with four CPU and one GPU cores will...

MSI Wind U135

Review: MSI Wind U135 netbook

A decent netbook incorporating the latest Intel technology in a...

Primary Navigation