An Iranian Space Odyssey Via America And Russia

SPACE TRAVEL

Anousheh Ansari - girl-power, space-tourist style. Photo courtesy of AFP.

Iran Press Lauds First Iranian In Space
Tehran (AFP) Sep 18 - Iranian media on Monday sung the praises of an Iranian-born US businesswoman who has become the world's first female space tourist, with one newspaper saying she was a "source of pride". Reformist newspapers Hambasteghi and Etemad-Melli published pictures of Anousheh Ansari, who has US nationality, in her spacesuit with the headline "The First Iranian In Space".

Hambasteghi quoted Ansari, who was born in 1966 and left Iran with her parents aged 16 shortly after the Islamic revolution, as saying she hoped her "voyage into space will create a ray of hope for young Iranians". "The trip into space of Anousheh Ansari is a source of pride for all Iranians," the newspaper added.

The hardline Kayhan daily also reported on Ansari's trip, quoting her as saying she "wanted to look at Iran from space". State television also devoted considerable coverage to her groundbreaking trip, also heralding her as the "first Iranian in space".

Iranian newspapers have published pictures of Ansari in the last weeks wearing the flags of both the United States and Iran on her spacesuit, although her Iranian flag did not have the symbol of the Islamic republic that is normally in its centre.

by Ursula Hyzy
Baikonur (AFP) Sep 18, 2006
Anousheh Ansari spent her childhood in Iran dreaming of space. Now, after years of hard work and study in the United States, she has realised her dreams and blasted into orbit on a Soyuz rocket.

Ansari took off with NASA's Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russia's Mikhail Tyurin from the Russian cosmodrome of Baikonur in Kazakhstan to become the first female space tourist.

She is thought to have paid about 25 million dollars (20 million euros) for the flight, which will last about 10 days and include a stay aboard the International Space Station.

"Ever since I can remember it has been in my soul and in my heart. I've always been interested and fascinated by space," Ansari earlier.

But it is her grounding in business and science and her iron resolve that have made the dream a reality.

Born in 1966 in Iran, Ansari left the country with her parents at the age of 16 shortly after the Islamic revolution. Arriving in the United States speaking only Farsi and French, Ansari nevertheless managed to launch herself into the study of electronics and data processing.

She has taken US citizenship, has received degrees from George Mason University in Virginia and George Washington University in the US capital and has filed patents in the field of telecommunications.

"She is a very determined, resolute woman," said Eric Anderson, chairman of Space Adventures, the company that markets the flights, in a telephone interview with AFP.

In 1993 Ansari convinced her husband to leave the company where they worked to set out on their own. Their telecommunications startup grew to employ 250 people before Ansari sold it in 2000.

Her family has gone on to invest not only in technology, but also in space exploration. The family contributed 10 million dollars to the X Foundation, set up to encourage advances in human space flight.

The money formed a prize, the Ansari X Prize, which in 2004 was awarded to Mojave Aerospace Ventures for launching a reusable space ship that reached space twice in two weeks.

If that is not enough to convince space enthusiasts of her credentials, she is also studying for a diploma in astronomy.

"I hope that not only my flights, but the life I have lived so far, become an inspiration for all youth all over the world, especially women and girls around the world to pursue their dreams," said Ansari.

"It may seem very hard... but looking at my background they can see that sometimes the impossible can be possible and dreams can come true."

And although her life now is a far cry from her origins in Iran, Ansari says she has not forgotten her birthplace, widely known for its hostility to the United States.

Earlier this year, she sported the flags of both Iran and the United States on her spacesuit.

"I felt that by wearing the two badges I can demonstrate that both countries had something to do with making me the person who I am today," she said at Star City.

SPACE TRAVEL

Ansari Hopes Space Travel Will Increase Respect For Earth Environment

Baikonur (AFP) Sep 18, 2006
Space travel should make human beings more aware of the fragility of the Earth's environment and intensify efforts to preserve the planet, "space tourist" Anousheh Ansari said Sunday before her trip to the International Space Station.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT Ideas To Rebuild Hurricane-Devastated New Orleans Showcased At Italian Fair China's natural disasters cost billions, kill thousands: report The Role Of Academia In The Global Aid Industry Keesler Hospital Takes Big Step Forward	CLIMATE SCIENCE Computer Model Looks At How To Cool The Earth Back Down Warming Climate May Put Chill On Arctic Polar Bear Population Meeting Tries To Bring Poor Nations Onboard Climate Change Pact English Country Gardens Under Attack From Global Warming
EARTH OBSERVATION GeoEye Approved For Listing On The Nasdaq Global Market Scientists Sketch City In Geocyberspace Google Maps Spotlight Changes Across The Earth Smoke Plume Dispersal From The World Trade Center Disaster	ENERGY TECH China Urges Stable International Environment For Energy Security OPEC Casts A Dark Eye On The Greening Of Energy Building A World Beating Solar Energy Industry In Australia Investment In Russian Power Sector To Hit 80 Billion Dollars
EPIDEMICS Existing Vaccine Facilities Can Handle Flu Pandemic Indonesian Bird Flu Toll Increases Further Bird Outbreaks In Four Countries University Launches New Website On 1918 Flu Pandemic	FLORA AND FAUNA California Scientists Find Natural Way To Control Spread Of Destructive Argentine Ants US Court Jails Animal Rights Activists Lay Off The Stingrays Warns Australian Environoment Minister Bizarre Rodent Traits Deepen Mystery Of Genetics and Evolution
FROTH AND BUBBLE Residents Riot As Ivory Coast Promises Start To Toxic Waste Clean-Up Watchdog Calls For severe Punishment For Pollution Cases In China The Metallurgy Of China And Protecting The Environment Environmentalists Warn Against Moves To Open Andaman Islands	ABOUT US You May Be Losing More Than Just Your Memory Modern Humans, Not Neandertals, May Be Evolution's 'Odd Man Out' Too Many Men Could Destabilize Society How Did Our Ancestors' Minds Really Work

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement