Simonyi wants to work on the demand side of space tourism

The Seattle Times has the first interview with Charles Simonyi since his return to Earth on Saturday. He calls the trip “absolutely worthwhile”, full of “rich, fascinating stuff”, although he didn’t call it a particularly spiritual event. He said the future of commercial spaceflight depends on making the experience less complex: “We also have to remember there’s nothing inherent in the spacecraft that makes all these preparations [mandatory]. These are not laws of physics that require preparations. It’s just a stage in technology.”

Simonyi is asked if he’s interested in investing or otherwise getting involved in commercial space ventures after his trip. Simonyi says no: “I think on the supply side there are great entrepreneurs [such as Amazon.com Chief Executive] Jeff Bezos, who has much more experience in understanding of that side.” Instead, he said, “What I feel I ought to do, given that I had this privilege of having done it, is just to communicate what it’s like. If it generates demand, that’s great.”

And for those reports that Bill Gates will be following Simonyi into space? “That’s typical. The Russian press is notorious for their fabrications.”