Courtesy of Space Adventures, Ltd.

Space News posted 10/9/08 | 3 comments

Son of Pioneer Skylab Astronaut Ready to Rocket into Orbit

When Richard Garriott blasts off into space on October 12, he will become the world's first second-generation astronaut, following in the spacewalking footsteps of his father, NASA pioneer Owen Garriott. Richard Garriott is headed to space as part of Space Adventures, Ltd., a Vienna, Va., company in which he has invested, and will enter orbit not as a tourist but rather as a civilian astronaut whose to-do list includes snapping nearly 500 pictures of Earth and participating in a series of experiments that will test spaceflight's impact on his eyes (his vision was corrected by laser surgery more than a decade ago), immune system and sleep patterns.... [more]