Bill Gates, the World's Richest Man, Plans Space Flight

The world's richest man, Bill Gates, is reportedly considering a flight into space, according to a Russian cosmonaut.

The news came when the Russian cosmonaut hosting American billionaire Charles Simonyi aboard the International Space Station said in a TV interview that he was informed by Simonyi that Microsoft mogul Bill Gates is planning a flight to space.

The cosmonauth, Fyodor Yurchikhin, said that "Charles said that Bill Gates is also preparing to visit space."

Simonyi himself is a former Microsoft engineer who paid $25 million to a U.S. company called Space Adventures to arrange his trip to the space station about a Russian Soyuz rocket.

Gates, who as the world's richest man is worth an estimated $25 billion, can certainly afford the price. Gates, however, has not shown an interest in thrill seeking in the past, unlike some other billionaires.

Neither Gates nor Microsoft were immediately available for comment.

Space Adventures said that it has heard nothing about a trip from Gates.

"Space Adventures has had no contact with Bill Gates," spokeswoman Natalya Dedovets said.

Spaces Adventures makes it possible for wealthy individuals to travel off the planet. For $102,000 they will arrange for sub-orbital space flight 62 miles above the earth. The company is also planning an ambitious trip to the moon that will cost $100 million each.

Simonyi traveled to the ISS on Monday with Yurchikhin and cosmonaut Oleg Kotov. Simonyi is scheduled to return to the planet on April 20 with the current ISS team, while Yurchikhin and Oleg will stay on for a 190 day shift.

Simonyi is the fifth tourist to travel to the ISS. Other Space Adventures customers have included Dennis Tito in 2001, Greg Olsen in 2005, Mark Shuttleworth in 2002, and Anousheh Ansari in 2006.

Sources:
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199000521
http://www.theage.com.au/news/travel/bill-gates-considers-zerogravity-flight/2007/04/12/1175971226840.html