Third Space Tourist is Set

Sgt York writes "Space Adventures announced yesterday that Gregory Olsen will be their next private space tourism client. He paid $20M to hop on a Soyuz, sometime by 2005, and go spend some time on the ISS. The cool thing is, he's not just playing tourist. He's the CEO of Sensors Unlimited, has a MS in physics, and a PhD in materials science. He's planning on using the trip to 'help inspire today's youth to dream big' and conduct a few experiments, including testing out some of his company's equipment. SA is billing him as his own 'private space program.'" There's also a space.com story.

Comments

Third Tourist Background Story

[bcolflesh]

He sounds like an interesting guy - not your typical privileged millionaire.

Re:Tax Deduction

[PIPBoy3000]

I'm sure you're right. Here's a recent blurb about them in the news. It looks like they do a fair bit of business with the Air Force, so NASA's practically sending one of their own.

Sensors Unlimited, Inc. (Princeton, NJ), provider of short wave IR imaging products based on indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) technology, has received a follow-on, Phase 1b contract from the U.S. Air Force, for a twelve month, $2 million program to develop the industry's first high frame rate camera for combined imaging and ranging, using an in-pixel digitized, monolithic PIN/APD focal plane array. The Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency is providing the funding under a contract managed by the Air Force. Sensors Unlimited was the only vendor to address both imaging and ranging within a single focal plane array and camera. The company says that it will "significantly advance the state-of-the-art in infrared imaging."

Re:An Interesting Flight

[Thanatopsis]

He also made a ton of money selling his previous company (he cashed out to the tune of several hundred million). So his current company is small because he is in start up mode again.

Re:Profit?

[TheCrazyFinn]

$10,000/lb or more for the shuttle, Soyuz is about half that, that's launch costs, not retail.

The pity is that DC-X was looking to be sub-$1000/lb, possibly as low as $100/lb, which is around airline pricing.

Then NASA cancelled it.

Re:US Reaction more laid back...

[clearmake]

You gotta go with the Russians on this - they havn't lost anyone in space for awhile. I think it's like 14 to 0 in last 20 years.

Re:Nietzsche on loftiness

[Deraj DeZine]

RTFA:

"He built a building down at the University of Virginia. He didn't put his name on it. He put his teacher's name on it. There's another addition to the library in Ridgefield Park. He put his mother's name on it. You'll never see [a building] with his name on it," Capalbo said. "People all over the place are saying, 'Who is this Greg Olsen guy?' I can tell you. I know who he is and it's been one of the delights of my life to know him."

This guy sounds legit. More evidence in the full article, of course =)

He already does all that

[Walkiry]

You might have missed this link, since it was in one of the comments. Quote of choice:

He also gave $15 million to his alma mater, the University of Virginia and runs a family foundation with his daughter Krista. (For the last ten years, Olsen has also personally mentored a Trenton, N.J., student through the Big Brothers-Big Sisters program.)

And besides, I see absolutely no reason why you have to crack on him like that about how he should be using that money in a "better way" according to you. Perhaps you don't think the way he is spending that money is the right one, but it seems like he disagrees.

Re:He's the sixth, not the third!

[r00tdenied]

No Tito and Shuttleworth were the first 'paying' space tourist. There is a major distinction. Congressional and Senate memebers obviously were non-paying.