Slashdot Mirror
Soyuz With Richard Garriott Successfully Launched
Toren Altair writes "Soyuz TMA-13 with ISS Expedition Crew 18 and Richard Garriott successfully launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome at 7:01 UT (3:01 EDT). The Soyuz capsule will dock to the ISS in two days. Garriott will return to Earth with Expedition 17 crew members, Commander Sergei Volkov and Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko on October 23."
With the extra attention on this launch, the Russians have gone out of their way to say that the return of the Soyuz vehicle will be safe, after a couple of different malfunctions in the past year. Garriott is in space partly for recreation, and partly as a promotion for his latest MMO, Tabula Rasa. He took with him a hard drive filled with information about humanity, as well as DNA sequences from Tabula Rasa players and various celebrities (including Stephen Colbert and Stephen Hawking) to 'preserve' that data in case of a disaster on Earth. Garriott will also spend time running and participating in experiments. Coverage of the Soyuz mission is ongoing at NASATV.
If you haven't seen it yet, I'd recommend checking out Tabula Rasa . It's one of the better RPGs set in space, and I like how it has adopted ideas from science fiction writers like Vinge. Going into space seems a great way to support it, but it's a pity that the mass media now considers human spaceflight so meh that even a freakin' computer game legend going into orbit won't win too much attention for the game.
From October 14, Richard Garriot will be sending back SSTV images from the ISS. Today they're planning to test some of the equipment currently on the ISS by sending SSTV between 1800UTC and 2100UTC. Unfortunately there won't be any usable passes over where I live before 1800, but I'll still be listening on 145.800MHz just in case...
If you're interested in trying to receive images or other radio transmissions from the ISS, you can get information on its passes from Heavens Above or by using prediction software like gpredict. You may find you need a larger antenna than the "rubber duck" that most scanners and handheld radios come with, but if you're far enough south to get a good high pass you might manage to hear it. For receiving SSTV you'll need some sort of gain antenna like a Yagi, really. In Linux, you can use qsstv for decoding the SSTV images.
the Ultima Online community got it's petition through and shot him to the moon. I never played any Ultima game back then but I want his house, probably for sale by now.
Wait, what do you mean "Garriott will return to Earth"?
On a side note,
Richard Garriot, apart from being a successful video game writer, is in fact the son of a former NASA astronaut.
Wow, now that is good promotion. Never heard of the game, but I'll possibly keep Wine around for it.
Yes, but did he take along any parts for the toilet?
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Baikonur? I figured he'd blast off from Pirate's Harbor! I hope his Power Armor's in good condition also, or he'll never get the ring from the old man on Planet X.
Big media will care when he kills a Kilrathi and brings back the head. And even that won't forgive the sin of selling Origin to EA.
They don't know what they're in for.
The last thing they'll hear before they are mercilessly ganked is "corp por corp por".
How much for them not to bring him back?
By my definition, this makes Richard Garriott the most sane man on the planet, literally by escaping it for a short time.
For years, I've been baffled by the rat race millionaires and billionaires who seem to do nothing with their copious amounts of cash than collect more of it. It isn't sane IMHO unless you do something big and spectacular with that amount of excess. At most, some of them retire and give a portion to charity (not bad per se, but even then watch them coldly calculate how they dole it out).
Richard Garriott isn't super rich on a gigantic scale compared to some, but he's always done stuff that others may define as eccentric. Seriously tho, he's more sane than the rest of that upper margin.
Kudos to him.
I had the pleasure to meet Richard Garriot at E3 a few years ago.
You would think some bigwig like Mr. Garriot would go out to eat, but no, he was standing in line with the rest of us schmoe's at the cafeteria.
I didn't even take notice of who was who until someone asked if they could sit at the only empty chair across from me, to which I muttered "whatever" and went on reading my material. When I finally looked up, I was shocked to say the least. The interesting thing was that Mr. Garriot spent the hour and a half talking to me, laughing at his past antics, moaning about all that money he had to spend on his "castle sinking". Even when we were interrupted by the occasional fan asking for his autograph, this man never once got upset or even looked cross.
I'm not much for meeting a lot of the Game Developer Gods, I've had my share of not-so-good meetings, but I will say "Good for you Richard", reach for the moon, if you miss, you will still be among the stars!
I'm guessing we would have heard if it had been unsuccesfully launched...
He took with him a hard drive filled with information about humanity, as well as DNA sequences from Tabula Rasa players and various celebrities (including Stephen Colbert and Stephen Hawking) to 'preserve' that data in case of a disaster on Earth.
Okay, I understand the concept of "publicity stunt", however...
What exactly is having this material a couple hundred miles above the planet supposed to accomplish, exactly? In case of a disaster on the Earth, was he thinking he'd do a spacewalk and try to throw it in a direction away from Earth? Good luck generating escape velocity that way, buddy.
Or did he think this planet-wide disaster would be over quickly, leaving an Earth-side genetics lab intact so he could return to Earth safely and somehow recreate a new race to be known as The Nerdlings? Tabula Rasa players, yeah that's the building blocks of an advanced civilization...
#DeleteChrome
..By Arvo Pärt, I recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/Tabula-Rasa/dp/B0000262K7
http://www.lastfm.se/music/Arvo+P%C3%A4rt/Tabula+Rasa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnZGt5eapFc
http://ridunkulousexperiences.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/arvo-part-tabula-rasa/
Mundus Vult Decipi
launching him into orbit will still never excuse the dogs breakfast of ascension.
Somehow I always thought you would get into space shot through a space cannon ala Martian Dreams. I guess a soyuz is the next best thing.
[i] He took with him a hard drive filled with information about humanity, as well as DNA sequences from Tabula Rasa players and various celebrities (including Stephen Colbert and Stephen Hawking) to 'preserve' that data in case of a disaster on Earth.[/i]
Don't you think it was extra-friendly of him to take Stephen Hawking with him? The man spends so much time thinking about space, bet he never thought he's gonna go there too in person. I know it's a short trip but still.
Is a magnetic hard drive really the best media format to leave in space in case our current society is destroyed? Are cosmic rays and other radiation a concern?
I suppose if society rebuilt enough to launch into space again, then the format of the data might not matter.
Is it just me or is NASATV broken on Linux?
Vas Ort Flam
Corp Por
Corp Por
That's for selling Origin to EA, which then created Trammel.
DogMeat [MoO] Mayor of Oberon Pass, Chesapeake
Jonah HEX
Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
Word is he'll be coming back down after he lands on the moon.
Via a moongate.
It's rare that you're presented with a knob whose only two positions are Make History and Flee Your Glorious Destiny.
Now sending Rick Astley to the ISS (and not letting him back) - that would be an idea.
Kal Ort Por
This means that if anything happens on earth, then the new humanity will be like Stephen Hawking? Be sure to include instructions on how to use text to speech, please.
Project "B Ark" is now complete.
Scene at the Soyuz Space Center take-in desk:
- So Mr. eh Garriott is it ? Why exactly do you want to go to the ISS ? The form says 'reasons for visit' you see, and I have to fill it in.
- Oh. Eh, isn't just for fun enough ? I thought that these days it was well accepted that if you were loaded enough, you could just hitch a ride ?
- 'recreational purposes'. Ok.
- On the other hand, wait - I see what you mean. It looks kind of decadent, doesn't it ? So eh, could you make it 'promotion of my new product' ? A computer game ?
- Sorry, I already submitted it. But I can add more reasons. 'promotion of a computer game'. Good. Anything else, before I submit again ?
- Yes, sure. Eh, I could take this disk I made which has the latest company outing photographs on it - the guys will like that, and perhaps I have a cigarette butt or two from some really famous but not so rich people I briefly met. But why would I do that ? O, I have it ! Make it that I'll take all that stuff into space 'in case of a disaster on earth' ! Yes that's it. That'll look good.
- Yes sir. Very good. I'll take it that you will be 'participating in various experiments' too, sir ?
- Will there be any girls involved ?
- No sir.
- Well then no, I mean - of course ! The experiments ! How could I forget about those ! Sure.
- Enjoy your flight sir.
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
By going into every Ultima game this weekend where you can kill Lord British and doing so. No I'm not jealous. not me :)
My favorites were Ultima III by blasting him with the ships cannons and Ultima VII, sucking out his soul with a demon sword.
--Won't that be grand? Computers and the programs will start thinking and the people will stop. - Dr. Walter Gibbs