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Videogame magnate Richard Garriott recently returned from 10 days with the Russian space program aboard the Soyuz TMA-13. He talked about his journey with NEWSWEEK's Sophie Grove. Excerpts:
You paid $30 million for this trip. Was it worth it?
Absolutely. I would have paid any sum to reach this gvoal. I was meant to be the first private citizen in space, but the dotcom crash wiped me out as a tech entrepreneur, so I had to sell my ticket [to Dennis Tito].
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But didn't Tito pay $20 million?
The cost has crept up by a couple of million bucks each time. That's really a combination of the crumbling U.S. economy and the growing Russian economy.
Isn't it rather a decadent sum for a holiday?
Well, sure, except I don't really consider it a holiday. To be honest, I kind of abhor the title of "space tourist." I'm doing very valuable scientific and commercial work while I'm in space.
Initially NASA didn't approve of space tourism.
I think they now understand that we can participate in a safe and contributory way. That said, they are still not completely supportive at this stage.
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