Billionaire aims to be ‘first nerd in space’

Alan Boyle Science editor • Profile • E-mail

SEATTLE - When former Microsoft developer Charles Simonyi goes into orbit next March, he's not merely aiming to be the first guy from Forbes magazine's billionaire list to fly in space. He also plans to lay claim to the title of "first nerd in space."

Hungarian-born Simonyi, 58, embraced his inner nerd on Thursday during a news conference at the Museum of Flight here, just a couple of days before he goes to Russia's Star City cosmonaut complex for months of training. The preparations will lead up to a 10-day-long mission to the international space station, currently scheduled for launch on March 9.

Simonyi is going where three rich men (and one rich woman) have gone before, but this time the price tag is a bit higher. The standard quote of $20 million is going up to $25 million, and Simonyi is paying a fare somewhere between those two figures, said Eric Anderson, chief executive officer of Virginia-based Space Adventures. Anderson's company has made the arrangements with the Russians for all five of those missions.

Most of those previous fliers have avoided calling themselves "space tourists," fearing that the term implied that they were going on a joyride with no deeper meaning. Like those others, Simonyi said he would be participating in scientific studies, and also would use his space experience to inspire and educate young people.

"I want to share all that I learn with everybody," Simonyi told reporters.

But if you want to call Simonyi a space tourist, that's fine, too. "Overall, his mission is to be a visitor — to enjoy space," Anderson said.

From Hungary to dot-com heights
Simonyi has waited a long time for his chance: On Thursday, he recalled how he obsessed over space lore while growing up in Hungary, memorizing the names of the dogs sent into orbit during the early years of the Soviet space effort. In 1963, such fandom helped him win a prize in a "junior cosmonaut" contest: a trip to Moscow to meet some real cosmonauts.

But Simonyi's biggest claim to fame came as a computer scientist and software engineer rather than a would-be astronaut: He emigrated to the United States in 1968, at the height of the Cold War, and played a huge role in promoting WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") approaches to software design. In 1981, he joined Microsoft and oversaw the development of some of the company's biggest products, such as Word and Excel. (Microsoft is a partner in the MSNBC.com joint venture.)

Simonyi retired from Microsoft in 2002 and now serves as president and chief executive officer of Intentional Software, based in Bellevue, Wash. He is also a philanthropist, making multimillion-dollar contributions through his Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences.

This year, Forbes estimated his net worth at $1 billion, putting him 746th on its list of 793 billionaires around the world. Space Adventures' past orbital clients — California investment adviser Dennis Tito (2001), South African dot-com tycoon Mark Shuttleworth (2002), New Jersey physicist-businessman Greg Olsen (2005) and Iranian-American venture capitalist Anousheh Ansari (2006) — aren't on the list.

Although the unmarried Simonyi said he saw himself as the "first nerd in space" — which is a judgment call, to be sure — he does get around. In the past, the gossip pages have linked him with controversial domestic diva Martha Stewart. He's also a licensed pilot with more than 2,000 hours of flight time in planes and helicopters under his belt, and reportedly owns one of the largest private yachts in America.

MORE FROM HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT

Human Spaceflight Section Front

Spacewalkers spruce up the station Phew! Spacewalkers remove explosive bolt NASA to fix damaged launch pad Space shuttle makes ‘beautiful landing’ NASA eases concerns over shuttle objects Why NASA watches out for true UFOs FirstPerson: Your blasts from the past Space Coast worries about shuttle shutdown Get a look at NASA’s next spacesuit Astronauts talk sports during time off Human Spaceflight Section Front   Add Human Spaceflight headlines to your news reader: