VIENNA, Va. – A Virginia space company says a software billionaire plans to become the first private traveler to make a second trip to space
Sixty-year-old Charles Simonyi (sih-MOHN'-ee) flew to the International Space Station with a Russian crew in April 2007. The 13-day trip cost him $25 million.
Vienna, Virginia-based Space Adventures says Simonyi now plans to go back with another Russian rocket in 2009.
It did not say how much Simonyi will pay. Simonyi is a software engineer who helped develop Microsoft Word and Excel.
Space Adventures first launched a private client into space in 2001. Its sixth client is due to fly to space on October 12. That client is Richard Garriott, son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriott.
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