Simonyi to return to ISS

Charles Simonyi, the former Microsoft executive who flew to the ISS in spring 2007, will return again next spring, Space Adventures announced this morning. (The news leaked out overnight in this AP article, although the formal press release wasn’t issued until this morning.) The text of the announcement follows:

Space Adventures’ Orbital Spaceflight Candidate, Charles […]

Virgin Galactic, climate change, and Scotland

A few recent developments involving Virgin Galactic:

Virgin Galactic has struck a deal with NOAA to collect atmospheric data on WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo flights. The vehicles will be equipped with sensors to measure carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere; the sensors will sample air from existing systems that collect air for […]

A Mexican spaceport for tourism?

When people think of the Yucatan Peninsula and Mexico, they usually think of resort destinations like Cancun and Cozumel, or exploring Mayan ruins like Chichen Itza. However, some people are proposing the region for a spaceport that could serve space tourism, according to a report in Sunday’s Stockton (Calif.) Record. When not training for a […]

Saudis lead Mideast space tourist race

[Yes, I’m trying to get back into the blogging game here again. Thanks for your patience.]

A report by the Arab news channel Al Arabiya notes that more Saudis have signed up for Virgin Galactic flights than from any other nation in the middle East. The article doesn’t provide any hard numbers, but states that […]