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Canadian clown ready to invade space station
Published: 17 September, 2009, 12:23
TAGS: Space
The crew of the latest mission to the International Space Station has set out for their rocket launch site after completing their final tests. Joining them will be Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil.
Space tourist Guy Laliberté has paid $35 million for the privilege of going into space. The team will blast off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in two weeks on September 30.
Talking to the press before leaving for Kazakhstan, the soon-to-be seventh civilian in space showed a clown’s nose, saying he will take it to the International Space Station as a symbol of what he is.
“I’m not a scientist. I’m not a professional cosmonaut and astronaut. What I’m bringing up there is what I am. And what I am is an artist, I’m creative and I think I’m a person with a pretty high spirit. So I’m going to crack jokes on these guys while they’re sleeping, tickling them.”
 Guy Laliberté |
17.09.2009, 09:14
1 comment
Roads in golden city paved with… nothingKrasnoye-on-Volga, with its eight thousand inhabitants, should fit into the stereotype of rural Russia: simple and traditional. Only this town is the country's goldsmith capital, and the one of a multi-million industry. |
17.09.2009, 19:05
2 comments
Controversial vessel stuck in financial limboConcerns have been raised over the fate of the crew onboard the controversial Arctic Sea merchant vessel. The ship is running out of fuel and drinking water and is still unable to dock in the Canary Islands. |
But is the ISS an expensive circus in itself? Is he the most accurate potrayal of what it is? The pay cheques are nice for the launches, but maybe a wholly owned Russian space station would take the circus element out and allow return on investment in? The ISS where every seat is circle seat!
"wholly owned Russian space station"? Both Russia and the US have had their own small space stations (Russia the biggest) but no country alone would use so much of their resources on building and maintaining a space station at the size of the ISS. Besides, what one get in return for it is primary scientific data, both zero-G data and data from open space. The money from the tourists are of course only a little bonus that cover a little fraction of the cost.