Richard Garriott Man On A Mission
Garriott flew to the space station under a deal with Russia's Federal Space Agency brokered by the VIRGINIA-BASED space tourism company Space Adventures, a firm that has arranged eight such flights for seven customers (one passenger flew twice) since 2001. Garriott paid 30 million to launch into orbit aboard a Russian Soyuz space capsule with two professional astronauts - one Russian, the other American - who were starting a months-long mission to the space station, SPACE.COM with more.