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First paying 'Afronaut' blasts off
Impact compared to Mandela inauguration
By KAREN MACGREGOR
Special to the Globe and Mail, with reports from AP and AFP
Friday, April 26, 2002 – Print Edition, Page A1
DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA -- Thrilled South Africans watched billionaire Mark
Shuttleworth blast his way into the heavens and history yesterday, as the first African
in space and the world's second space tourist.
The 28-year-old Internet magnate, who as a boy built rockets that "never went very
far" and would rather be called amateur astronaut than space tourist, spent $20-
million (U.S.) to take part in a 10-day mission from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan to the International Space Station.
In schools, homes and businesses across South Africa, people gathered to watch
the live televised launch of the 6.4-tonne Soyuz rocket, bearing the image of the
South African flag.
In less than 10 minutes, Russian flight controllers announced that Mr. Shuttleworth
and crew mates Yuri Gidzenko and Roberto Vittori, an Italian pilot, were safely in
orbit and chasing the ISS for a docking Saturday morning.
They will join three resident astronauts there.
Before blastoff, Mr. Shuttleworth smiled at his two colleagues and said in Russian:
"I'm not nervous. I'm ready."
Members of his family were at the launch, collapsing into a tearful group hug as the
rocket took off. "It is the most amazing thing that you can ever witness," his brother
Grant, 27, said. "We are so proud of him."
Newspapers across South Africa heralded Mr. Shuttleworth's mission with front-page
stories and banner headlines such as "Space-bound: Africa's 1st spaceman on the
brink of history" and "Journey to fulfil a dream."
One Johannesburg radio talk-show host compared the impact on the country to that
of Nelson Mandela's inauguration as president 1994. Callers to the show -- men and
women, black and white, young and old -- called "Afronaut" Shuttleworth a hero.
One woman said she had lit a candle for Mr. Shuttleworth's safety and would keep it
burning until his return.
"Mark is a courageous pioneer for South Africa and his continent, Africa," South
African President Thabo Mbeki said, calling him "an inspiration to the youth and
people of our country."
Mr. Shuttleworth was working on a business degree at the University of Cape Town
when he set up an Internet security company. Working from his garage, he
developed "business passports," which secure people's credit card details when they
buy on the Web.
He sold his company, Thawte Consulting, to an American competitor, Verisign, for
$500- million (U.S.).
A billionaire by his mid-20s, Mr. Shuttleworth now has a venture capital company that
he says focuses on innovative technology. "Wealth itself is of little meaning to me,"
he said. He handed out more than $100,000 U.S. to each of his 58 employees after
selling Thawte. "There is very little you can give Mark; he's not a very materialistic
person," said Grant, who wrote a song for his brother called Dreams.
Mr. Shuttleworth describes himself as "just an ordinary guy" (though he believes in
aliens), but he takes his dreams seriously. He spent more than seven months
training at Russia's Star City space centre to follow American businessman Dennis
Tito into space.
He also spent a week at NASA in Houston and received instruction from South
African scientists to conduct experiments in space. While in orbit, he will do research
on stem cells aimed at obtaining better understanding of the HIV virus, and on
protein crystallization and cardiology.
Mr. Shuttleworth, who launched a "Hip to be square" (Hip2b2) campaign for
schoolchildren to encourage interest in science and mathematics, will also talk to
students over a radio link from the ISS, and to Mr. Mbeki and former president
Mandela in live broadcasts.
South Africa is proud of its modest work in space, which includes a research satellite,
radar probes into deep space to monitor galactic weather, and world-renowned
observatories.
The Shuttleworth mission is expected to awaken more interest in space exploration
and scientific research.
"I don't expect my flight to produce a generation of astronauts and cosmonauts back
home," Mr. Shuttleworth said, "but I hope it will encourage people to pursue their
dreams.
Copyright © 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
End<{{{
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