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Anousheh Ansari
انوشه انصاری
Spaceflight Participant
Born September 12, 1966
Other occupation Businesswoman
Time in space 10d 21h 04m
Selection 2006
Missions Soyuz TMA-9, Soyuz TMA-8
Mission insignia

Anousheh Ansari (Persian: انوشه انصاری, born 12 September 1966) is the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc and a spaceflight participant with the Russian space program. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI). The Ansari family is also the title sponsor of the Ansari X PRIZE. On September 18, 2006, a few days after her 40th birthday, she became the first middle eastern female in space. Ansari is the fourth overall self-funded space tourist, and the first self-funded woman to fly to the International Space Station.

Contents

Early life

Born Anousheh Raissian in Mashhad, Iran, Anousheh and her parents moved to Tehran shortly afterward.1 Anousheh witnessed the Iranian Revolution in 1979. She emigrated to the United States in 1984 as a teenager.2

She received her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer science at George Mason University and her master's degree at George Washington University.345

After graduation, Anousheh began work at MCI, where she met her future husband, Hamid Ansari. They married in 1991.6

Business career

In 1993, she persuaded her husband, Hamid Ansari, and her brother-in-law, Amir Ansari, to co-found Telecom Technologies, Inc., using their savings and corporate retirement accounts, as a wave of deregulation hit the telecommunications industry. The company was acquired by Sonus Networks, Inc. in 2000 for $550 million in stock. Since the sale, Sonus' stock has fallen from $40 a share to under $5. Ansari and eight other individuals are defendants in a shareholder suit that, among other things, accuses her of insider trading.7

Spaceflight

Ansari holds a plant grown in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

Ansari has expressed that she does not consider herself a "space tourist", and prefers the title of "spaceflight participant".8

Ansari is a member of the X PRIZE Foundation’s Vision Circle, as well as its Board of Trustees.9 Along with her brother-in-law, Amir Ansari, she made a multi-million dollar contribution to the X PRIZE foundation on 5 May 2004, the 43rd anniversary of Alan Shepard's sub-orbital spaceflight. The X PRIZE was officially renamed the Ansari X PRIZE in honor of their donation.

The Ansari family investment firm, also named Prodea, has announced a partnership with Space Adventures, Ltd. and the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation (FSA) to create a fleet of suborbital spaceflight vehicles (the Space Adventures Explorer) for global commercial use.10

Spaceflight

Ansari trained as a backup for Daisuke Enomoto for a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station, through Space Adventures, Ltd.11 On 21 August 2006, Enomoto was medically disqualified from flying the Soyuz TMA-9 mission that was due to launch the following month. The next day Ansari was elevated to the prime crew.1213

Asked what she hoped to achieve on her spaceflight, Ansari said, "I hope to inspire everyone—especially young people, women, and young girls all over the world, and in Middle Eastern countries that do not provide women with the same opportunities as men—to not give up their dreams and to pursue them...It may seem impossible to them at times. But I believe they can realize their dreams if they keep it in their hearts, nurture it, and look for opportunities and make those opportunities happen."14 The day before her departure, she was interviewed on Iran national television for the astronomy show Night's Sky.15 The hosts wished her success and thanked her on behalf of Iranians. Ansari in return, thanked them.16

Ansari lifted off on the Soyuz TMA-9 mission with commander Mikhail Tyurin (RSA) and flight engineer Michael Lopez-Alegria (NASA) at 04:59 (UTC) on Monday September 18, 2006 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Ansari became the fourth (and first female) space tourist. Her contract did not allow for disclosure of the amount paid, but previous space tourists have paid in excess of $20 million USD. The space craft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday September 20, 2006, at 05:21 (UTC).1718 Ansari landed safely aboard Soyuz TMA-8 on September 29, 2006 at 01:13 UTC on the steppes of Kazakhstan (90 kilometers north of Arkalyk) with U.S. astronaut Jeffrey Williams and Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov.19 She was given red roses from an unidentified official, and a surprise kiss from her husband, Hamid.2021 Rescuers moved them to Kustanai for welcome ceremony with helicopters.2223

During her eight day stay on board the International Space Station, Ansari agreed to perform a series of experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency. She conducted four experiments,24 including:

  • Researching the mechanisms behind anemia.
  • How changes in muscles influence lower back pain.
  • Consequences of space radiation on ISS crew members and different species of microbes that have made a home for themselves on the space station.

She also became the first person to publish a weblog from space.

Iranian flag controversy

Anousheh Ansari's official space flight patch, featuring both the flags of Iran (lower right) and the U.S. (lower left), the ISS icon, and the map of Iran marked in dark green on the Earth's surface.

Ansari intended to wear the U.S. flag on her spacesuit alongside with a politically-neutral version of the Iranian flag, i.e. the simple 3-color flag with no government-specific emblem, to honor the two countries that have contributed to her life.25 A few U.S.-based media wrongly speculated that she was intending to wear the version of the Iranian flag that predated the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.26

At the insistence of the NASA and Russian officials, she did not wear the Iranian flag officially, but wore the Iranian flag colors instead and kept the Iranian flag on her official flight patch.27 She and her husband said no political message was intended, despite the increasing tensions with United States and Iran relations, which had dominated world headlines in the weeks leading up to her launch. She noted that she had "plans to devote her mission to expanding a global consciousness she expected would be seeded with her first look at Earth from space".

Reactions to Ansari's flight

Crewmates

Michael Lopez-Alegria, the Spanish-born NASA astronaut who flew on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on the return flight with Ansari, expressed his doubts to reporters before the flight: "I'm not a big fan personally of having those guys go visit the space station because I think the space station is still a place that is under construction, and not quite operational. I don't think it's ideal."28

Lopez-Alegria later stated that he was skeptical of private tourists a few years ago, but now believes it is essential to the survival of the Russian space program which is important to the U.S. space program: "If that's the correct solution... then not only is it good from the standpoint of supporting the Russian space program, but it's good for us as well," he said. Ansari's presence in space "is a great dream and a great hope not just for our country but for countries all around the world."29

The same Associated Press story also quoted Mikhail Tyurin describing Ansari as "very professional" and said he felt like they had worked together for a decade.

Reactions in Iran

Reactions to the flight in Ansari's native Iran were generally mixed. On one hand it was given significant coverage by state television. IRIB aired a live 1 hour interview with Anousheh in Aseman-e-Shab (Night Sky) live show. Anousheh was praised by newspapers such as Hambastegi and Jam-e-Jam Daily, which published daily columns detailing the journey. The astronomy magazine NOJUM also published an exclusive interview of Pouria Nazemi with Anousheh before her trip, in which she discussed her vision for commercial spaceflight. NOJUM also organized and held gatherings when the ISS passed over Iran's cities. Shahram Yazdanpanah, made a special part about Anousheh's trip to space at Persian "Space Science" website and covered all the news of trip.

On the other hand, this broad coverage was criticized by others such as Jomhoury Eslami, which feared this hype would set a bad example for young Iranians.30

Interviews

On September 22, 2006, she told reporters that she has no regrets and said "I am having a wonderful time here. It's been more than what I expected, and I am enjoying every single second of it. The entire experience has been wonderful up here."31

Honors and awards

Ansari has received multiple honors, including the George Mason University Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, the George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southwest Region. While under her leadership, Telecom Technologies, Inc. earned recognition as one of Inc. magazine's 500 fastest-growing companies and one of Deloitte & Touche’s Fast 500 technology companies. She was listed in Fortune magazine's "40 under 40" list in 2001 and honored by Working Woman magazine as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award.

The Ansari family was recently honored with an Orbit Award by the National Space Society and Space Tourism Society for underwriting the Ansari X PRIZE.

Personal

Apart from her native Persian, she is fluent in English and French, and acquired a working knowledge of Russian for her spaceflight experience.32

See also

References

  1. ^ "Alumni news". George Mason University (2001). Retrieved on 2006-09-22.
  2. ^ "Female space tourist blasts off" (2006-09-18). Retrieved on 18 September 2006. 
  3. ^ Emily Yaghmour. "Failure Was Never an Option for Mason Alumna". George Mason University alumni newsletter. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  4. ^ GINA SUNSERI, First Female Space Tourist Takes Off ABC News, Sept. 18, 2006
  5. ^ Andrew Buncombe (2006-09-18). "Pride in space as Iran cheers first Muslim's journey to the stars". 
  6. ^ "First female space tourist poised for launch" (2006-09-15). Retrieved on 15 September 2006. 
  7. ^ Koeng, David (2006-09-16). "Iranian-Born Woman to Be Space Tourist", Lycos News. 
  8. ^ "Space for Business Newsletter article from February 2007: "I am NOT a tourist"". February 2007
  9. ^ "Board of Trustees". X PRIZE Foundation. Retrieved on 2006-09-11.
  10. ^ "Space Tourism Pioneers, Space Adventures, and the Ansari X PRIZE Title Sponsors to Provide First Suborbital Spaceflight Tourism Vehicles". PR Newswire. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  11. ^ "Iranian Woman Blazes Trail Into Space". Spacedaily.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
  12. ^ "Iranian-born American approved to replace Japanese space tourist". Novosti. Retrieved on 2006-08-22.
  13. ^ "NASA Expedition 14 Overview".
  14. ^ "Interview with Anousheh Ansari, the First Female Space Tourist". Retrieved on 2006-09-19.
  15. ^ "Up, Up, and Away!".
  16. ^ "Full Coverage of Anousheh's journey to space".
  17. ^ ""Lift-off for woman space tourist "", BBC News Online (2006-09-18). Retrieved on 22 September 2006. 
  18. ^ ""Space tourist, new crew board ISS"", BBC News Online (2006-09-20). Retrieved on 22 September 2006. 
  19. ^ "INTERVIEW: From space, a new view of an Iranian", Yahoo. Retrieved on 18 September 2006. 
  20. ^ ""Space Station Crew Back on Earth"". NASA (2006-09-28). Retrieved on 2006-09-30.
  21. ^ ""Space tourist in Earth touchdown"", BBC News Online (2006-09-29). Retrieved on 30 September 2006. 
  22. ^ ""American female space tourist returns"", The Detroit News (2006-09-29). 
  23. ^ ""Space triumph prompts new line in underwear"", icWales, The Western Mail (2006-09-29). Retrieved on 30 September 2006. 
  24. ^ "IESA experiments with spaceflight participant Ansari to ISS". Retrieved on 2006-09-22.
  25. ^ Ender, West (2006-08-28). "Iranian flag in Space", Persian Students in the UK Weblog. Retrieved on 7 January 2007. 
  26. ^ Maher, Heather (2006-09-15). "U.S.: Iranian-American To Be First Female Civilian In Space", Radio Free Europe. Retrieved on 17 September 2006. 
  27. ^ Slater, Shelly (2006-09-14). "Local space tourist's Iran patch spurs dispute". Retrieved on 17 September 2006. 
  28. ^ Than, Ker (2006-09-16). "First Female Space Tourist, Next ISS Crew Set to Launch", space.com. Retrieved on 18 September 2006. 
  29. ^ Eckel, Mike (2006-09-18). "First female space tourist blasts off", Yahoo News. 
  30. ^ Writers, AFP Staff (2006-09-19). "Iran Daily Attacks Coverage Of 'Rich Iranian' In Space", Spacedaily.com. Retrieved on 20 September 2006. 
  31. ^ "First female space tourist savoring 'every single second' in orbit", AP (2006-09-22). 
  32. ^ WARREN E. LEARY, She Dreamed of the Stars; Now She’ll Almost Touch Them, NY Times , September 12, 2006

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