A Little Bit of History As British-Born Adventurer Blasts Off with Metro
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www.metro.co.uk Monday, October 13, 2008 METRO 9 newspaper in space BY ROSS McGUINNESS OTHER papers may claim to be ‘soar- A little bit of WHAT THE away’ or ‘out of this world’. They may even name themselves after celestial bodies. But Metro has beaten them all history as CHILDREN to the heavens – by becoming the first newspaper in space. DESIGNED At 8.01am yesterday, a Soyuz space- British-born craft blasted off from Kazakhstan HOW do you fly a magic heading for the International Space carpet in space? Could you Station – with a special edition of Met- adventurer gargle and spit in a sink? And ro on board. can you drink while standing It was taken by Richard Garriott, the on your head in zero-gravity? first British-born space tourist, who blasts off These are just a few of the will be carrying out a series of experi- tests suggested by our ments thought up by British school- younger readers that Richard children as part of a Metro competi- with Metro Garriott will be undertaking tion. For the next ten days, the while on his adventure. Zoe 47-year-old will join an 18-strong astronaut Owen Garriott. ‘I’m now Mr Garriott’s poor eyesight meant he Brown, aged ten, wanted to see crew that includes a Nasa astronaut feeling my British heritage a lot more could not become a Nasa astronaut. if he could skip in space. Zoe, and a Russian cosmonaut. than I used to, feeling proud of it. I He paid a reported £20million for his The Metro edition shows Mr Garriott hope British people will be proud of voyage. ‘I’m really happy for him. on the front page in his space suit, and me too,’ Richard said. It’s one of the things he’s wanted to contains details of the winning entries ‘I’m elated, elated,’ said Owen Gar- do most in his life. He’s like a kid in a in the children’s experiments competi- riott, shortly after launch. Richard’s candy shop,’ said Ms Miller. tion. Mr Garriott is travelling courtesy mother, Eve, and his girlfriend, Kelly The Soyuz is due to dock tomorrow of Space Adventures, the only compa- Miller, shed tears of joy and relief at with the ISS. Mr Garriott is to return to ny that sends tourists into the great be- the successful launch. ‘This is cool, Earth on October 24 in a Soyuz cap- yond. ‘It’s great to sport the British this is cool,’ Ms Miller said. sule with cosmonauts Oleg Konon- flag in space,’ he said before lift-off. A key figure in the video game in- enko and Sergei Volkov, whose father, Although born in Cambridge, the lat- dustry, Mr Garriott established his own Alexander, also travelled to space – Jump to est space tourist is a US citizen who games publisher, Origin Systems, making him the first professional sec- it: Zoe was raised in Texas, and is the son of which he later sold to Electronic Arts. ond-generation space traveller. Brown’s skipping test will tried by Infinity and beyond for £2,500 Richard in orbit WHILE space tourists pay out as two people, participants wear a a pupil at Grove Primary much as £20million, you can spacesuit underwater, outside a School, Romford, east London, experience the thrill of full-scale model of the ISS, to said Richard would need a weightlessness for a mere £2,500. recreate the sensation of walking rope, somewhere to bounce, Space Adventures, the organisation above Earth. Founded in 1998, and ‘plenty of self-confidence that put Richard Garriott into Space Adventures was responsible and belief’. Jack Fox, also ten, orbit, offers zero-gravity flights at a for the world’s first space tourist. from North Bridge House facility in either the US or Russia. In May 2001, US businessman School in Regents Park, For about £6,000, you can also Dennis Tito went to the ISS. He was central London, asked how experience the force of gravity in a followed a year later by South astronauts keep entertained, so simulation of re-entry into the African Mark Shuttleworth. The Richard has taken playing Earth’s atmosphere. The next best first female space tourist was cards, watercolour paints and thing to being in orbit, however, is Anousheh Ansari from Iran, magnets to keep himself busy. Float on: Play being an astronaut the spacewalk. Costing £17,000 for who went up in September 2006. Adventurer: Richard © 2008 TM Productions Limited/PA Tudors II Inc. An Ireland-Canada Co-Production. All Rights Reserved..