Space Adventures Announces Barbara Barrett as Back-Up Crew Member for Fall 2009 Orbital Spaceflight Mission
International business and aviation attorney training alongside primary crew member Guy Laliberte
Vienna, Virginia – June 15, 2009 — Today, Space Adventures, Ltd., the only company that provides human space missions to the world marketplace, announced that Barbara Barrett is currently training as the back-up crew member alongside orbital spaceflight candidate Guy Laliberte, who is preparing for the Soyuz TMA-16 flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
“It is a privilege to have Barbara take part in our orbital training program. As an instrument-rated pilot, along with her knowledge of the aviation industry, she is a perfect candidate,” said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures. “Currently, she’s in Star City training with Guy Laliberte as he readies himself for his spaceflight mission this September.”
Space Adventures became world renowned in 2001 with the launch of client Dennis Tito, the world’s first privately funded spaceflight participant. Since then, the company has launched five other spaceflight missions, including two for Charles Simonyi. Dr. Simonyi became the company’s first repeat orbital client when he launched to space in March.
After successful completion of the program, Barrett will be certified as a ‘fully trained cosmonaut’ and will be named to an official space mission crew. This is a distinction that less than 1,000 people have ever had.
“Training as a backup for the September space launch is an adventure – and education — of a lifetime,” said Barrett. “The space frontier inspires young people today just as it did Galileo and Copernicus centuries ago. Students today who build science and math skills will have access to the thrill of space travel almost routinely in their lifetimes.”
About Barbara Barrett
Barbara Barrett is an international business and aviation attorney. She is President and CEO of Triple Creek Guest Ranch, a Montana Hideaway. Until January 2009, Barrett was U.S. Ambassador to Finland. Prior to Finland she served on the corporate boards of Raytheon, Exponent and The Mayo Clinic, and was a trustee of Aerospace Corporation and Thunderbird School of Global Management. She was a member of the Boards of the Space Foundation, Horatio Alger Association, the Smithsonian and Harvard’s Institute of Politics. Earlier she was a Senior Advisor to the UN, President and CEO of the American Management Association, founding Chairman of Valley Bank of Arizona, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, Vice Chairman of the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board and executive/officer of two Fortune 500 corporations. Barrett was President of the International Women’s Forum and Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Barrett and her husband, Craig, live in Arizona.
About Space Adventures
Space Adventures, the company that organized the flights for the world’s first private space explorers, is headquartered in Vienna, Va. with an office in Moscow. It offers a variety of programs such as the availability today for spaceflight missions to the International Space Station and around the moon, Zero-Gravity flights, cosmonaut training, spaceflight qualification programs and reservations on future suborbital spacecrafts. In 2012, Space Adventures plans to launch the first private mission to the ISS. This private spaceflight will be a fully-dedicated mission of the Soyuz-TMA spacecraft with two seats available, along with a comprehensive package of services including science, education and media program options. The company’s advisory board includes Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, Shuttle astronauts Sam Durrance, Tom Jones, Byron Lichtenberg, Norm Thagard, Kathy Thornton, Pierre Thuot, Charles Walker, Skylab/Shuttle astronaut Owen Garriott and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachev. For more information, please visit www.spaceadventures.com.
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Stacey Tearne
Vice President, Communications
Space Adventures, Ltd.
8000 Towers Crescent Drive
Suite 1000
Vienna, Va. 22182
USA
+1 703 894 2192 direct dial
+1 703 524 7176 fax
+1 202 256 7917 mobile
stearne@spaceadventures.com
www.spaceadventures.com
Richard Garriott’s spaceflight mission web site: www.RichardInSpace.com
