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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.

6 of 56 comments (clear)

  1. Finally by meist3r · · Score: 2, Funny

    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.

  2. Woohooo, finally! by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wait, what do you mean "Garriott will return to Earth"?

  3. What about the toilet? by John+Hasler · · Score: 3, Funny

    He took with him a hard drive filled with information about humanity...

    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.
  4. The first step to beating Minax by schmidt349 · · Score: 3, Funny

    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.

    1. Re:The first step to beating Minax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Spoilers above for those who haven't finished Ultima ][ yet.

  5. Ganking on the ISS by Liquidrage · · Score: 2, Funny

    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".