Google honcho Sergey Brin plans first-ever private trip to the ISS

Google co-founder Sergey Brin is about to join an extremely short list of space tourists, according to reports. The search engine-kingpin just dropped a $5 million dollar "investment" on the company Space Adventures, which all but guarantees him a seat on the outfit's next flight in 2011. The trip aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket will take Brin to the ISS in the first-ever private flight to the station (Ubuntu head Mark Shuttleworth has made the trip, though not on a private mission). The company stresses that the ride will be less about tourism and more about commercial exploration, with passengers bringing aboard experiments and taking part in flight operations. Now the only riddle left to solve is whether the last Cylon is Brin or Bezos.

[Via Gear Diary]

[michas_pi @ Jun 11th 2008 12:49PM]

I spy an old version of Google Earth.

[2Shea @ Jun 11th 2008 12:53PM]

Why not spend a lot less money, and just go on Virgin Galactic? I'd rather do that than be cramped up in that tin can they call a space station.

[Rubberdemon @ Jun 11th 2008 12:59PM]

Because a few minutes of suborbital flight != a week in low earth orbit.

[RC @ Jun 11th 2008 12:59PM]

You have no idea what you're talking about.

[2Shea @ Jun 11th 2008 1:07PM]

Well it depends on what you're in it for. I'd be satisfied with the suborbital flight, and the amazing view. I really don't care for the ISS (if I'm going to be there for a week or more I'd rather be in different conditions than that), nor going up on a Soyuz. So for myself personally, Virgin Galactic would be my obvious choice.

[Samuel Wat @ Jun 11th 2008 8:24PM]

Do you know what suborbital flight actually means? And, the little time you can be up there? About several minutes in Virgin Galactic's ship, costing about $200,000. In the ISS, that's a different story, you can do many things that Virgin Galactic can't do and even longer as well. Up to a week.

[Ike Turner @ Jun 11th 2008 12:58PM]

Or he can donate this money to Cancer/HIV/Alzheimer, etc....research

[peekinde @ Jun 11th 2008 1:10PM]

yes, if you give me 5 million dollars, i will cure cancer, and with 2 million more, i can cure aids

[CosterMonger @ Jun 11th 2008 1:32PM]

@peekinde
i think you mean trillion

[CosterMonger @ Jun 11th 2008 1:34PM]

@peekinde
i think you mean 5 & 2 trillion

[hugoliva @ Jun 11th 2008 1:41PM]

I bet that with only 1month worth of taxes he pays, he has contributed more to those researches than you have done in your entire life.

[Kris @ Jun 11th 2008 1:45PM]

@CosterMonger, I think you mean "Haha that was funny. I almost missed the sarcasm"

[CosterMonger @ Jun 11th 2008 2:06PM]

@Kris
The sarcasm I got :)
I offered some of my own :(

[CosterMonger @ Jun 11th 2008 2:12PM]

Why make trillions when we can make...BILLIONS? ~Dr. Evil

[tridge @ Jun 11th 2008 2:42PM]

@hugolivia: I love your comment!

[paul @ Jun 11th 2008 12:59PM]

Good for him, the more private investment in space the sooner it will become possible for anyone to go.

[Eric M. @ Jun 11th 2008 12:59PM]

Damn, I bet that spaceship has terrible Gas mileage.

[pdaddy @ Jun 11th 2008 1:49PM]

Didn't you hear, this rocket is a hybrid. Propulsion is created by burning half rocket fuel, half money =-)
Also, I hope his hair doesn't get loose up there on the space station...

[Ayman @ Jun 12th 2008 12:59AM]

Don't worry, there will be a hybrid system by the year 2029... oh sorry wrong blog

[paul @ Jun 11th 2008 1:01PM]

Hey Ike thank's for punching all that good music out of tina.

[Rainier @ Jun 11th 2008 1:02PM]

I'd like to fly up into space too, but I'm only a 'thousandnaire'.

I suspect the wealthy will leave the rest of us behind on Earth while they populate other worlds. At that point in time, Earth will have become a "third-world-planet".

[Frankenstein Black @ Jun 11th 2008 1:09PM]

Become?! We are already there dude. We don't even have flying cars. Just Sayin...

[Erik @ Jun 11th 2008 2:16PM]

3rd World Planet? How about the rich people all go to Mars, and I'll stay here and go to the beach, or hike in a forest, or swim in a lake.

[Abuzar @ Jun 12th 2008 1:37AM]

And have some puny amoeba eat my brain out?

No thanks.

[Anthony @ Jun 11th 2008 1:04PM]

I do not agree with using the ISS like that at all. Space is dangerous, we don't need a tourist freaking out up there and risking the lives of the real scientists and pilots.

[z0phi3l @ Jun 11th 2008 1:23PM]

Need to use the ISS for SOMETHING, as it is seems like a waste of millions, even Hubble has a real mission and value the ISS is essentially up there doing a whole lot of not much

[CosterMonger @ Jun 11th 2008 1:40PM]

I'd worry mostly about the toilets

[Kris @ Jun 11th 2008 1:47PM]

@z0phi3l, you don't know what you're talking about. Thanks to the ISS we've made some really great discoveries in space and expanded on knowledge.

[Samuel Wat @ Jun 11th 2008 8:24PM]

@Kris
Thank you, finally someone understands science!

[Christy McGrory @ Jun 11th 2008 1:08PM]

He could do with improving that Google Sky thing on Google earth while he's up there.

[Anthony @ Jun 11th 2008 5:06PM]

I hear he's taking his HTC Andriod w/ a 3mp camera & GPS- plans to geoblog the experience.

[Mile @ Jun 11th 2008 1:13PM]

I didn't know that guy from Scrubs was also behind Google!

[hopenglish @ Jun 11th 2008 1:16PM]

Dude, not Scrubs.

Bueller's Day Off.

[Gingerbread Man @ Jun 11th 2008 1:21PM]

Lmao, a 3rd world planet!

[Gingerbread Man @ Jun 11th 2008 1:21PM]

Lmao, a 3rd world planet!

[CosterMonger @ Jun 11th 2008 1:29PM]

Oh Noes

Virgle is real?
http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html

[Jonathan leang @ Jun 11th 2008 1:35PM]

First-ever private flight to the station?


Mark Shuttleworth was there "paying approximately US$ 20 million. Two days later, the Soyuz spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station,where he spent eight days participating in experiments related to AIDS and genome research. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Shuttleworth

[Jonathan leang @ Jun 11th 2008 1:39PM]

no one said that in nytimes, someone made it up ?

[Jonathan leang @ Jun 11th 2008 1:43PM]

I got it now ~ is not a spare seat, he booked a seat ~

[Jonathan leang @ Jun 11th 2008 1:42PM]

I got it now ~ is not a spare seat, he booked a seat ~

[Wormbolt @ Jun 11th 2008 2:15PM]

I would do this too but I refuse to pay an extra $16 for each piece of luggage.

[Jason @ Jun 11th 2008 2:15PM]

Dennis Tito went up in Soyuz in 2001.....no mention there.. God us rich americans love paying the russians for a trip into orbit...

[Garth Bock @ Jun 11th 2008 2:25PM]

He is taking an IMAX camera with him.....coming next.... Google Universe !

[corystal @ Jun 11th 2008 3:04PM]

already done:
http://www.shatters.net/celestia/download.html
now google just needs to buy it and incorporate it into google earth

[bolezhinkov @ Jun 11th 2008 2:18PM]

the last episode of battlestar will take place in real time as the galactica comes crashing into earths atmosphere. can't wait to get me a six . . .

[lance @ Jun 11th 2008 2:20PM]

well thats one way to end your reign as a search engine giant, float out to space and never come back.

[Mredraider @ Jun 11th 2008 2:19PM]

So is he actually going to be allowed on the ISS? For some reason I assumed it was a bit more "secure" than that... even though it's kinda isolated.

I guess having enough money means avoiding any minor details like a security clearance.

[CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jun 11th 2008 2:32PM]

I don't really see the need for security on the ISS. I mean really, do you think someone is just going to randomly show up, park their spaceship, and go on in?

[Wormbolt @ Jun 11th 2008 2:37PM]

They have a problem with Wookies getting into their trashcans.

[dom.rout @ Jun 11th 2008 2:41PM]

You repeated yourself: "$5 million dollar" - it should be either "5 million dollar" or "$5 million".