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Charles Simonyi: International Space Station
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As you sit reading this, Charles Simonyi, the ex Microsoft software architect and multi-billionaire, is becoming the fifth non-military dude to be shot into space. Right now, he’s on his way to the International Space Station onboard a Soyuz spacecraft that took off from
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Microsoft billionaire Charles Simonyi will this weekend be shot up into space in a flight to the International Space Station, reports AFP. Simonyi, who on his Web site describes himself as the chief architect of word and Excel at Microsoft, where he worked between 1981 and 2001, will be the world's fifth space tourist when he blasts off on Saturday.
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Simonyi is especially interested in space discovery. He was one of the first tourists to fly to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. Wayne Rosing, Google's former head of engineering, works on LSST as a senior fellow in mathematical and physical sciences at the University of California, Davis.
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Even at leisure, Mr. Simonyi, who was born in Hungary and taught himself programming by punching machine code on Russian mainframes, is a restless, expansive personality. In April, he will become the fifth space tourist, paying $20 million to board a Russian Soyuz rocket and visit the International Space Station.
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Students at these schools will have an opportunity to ask Dr. Simonyi questions through Amateur Radio... known as ham radio, which he will then answer live from the International Space Station (ISS) as it orbits the Earth. These audio sessions will be recorded and featured in the "Kids' Space" section on Dr. Simonyi's Web site, http://www.charlesinspace.com/, for all to hear.
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Those aren't the only impressive statistics from Dr. Simonyi's mission to space. The Web site http://www.charlesinspace.com/, where Dr. Simonyi has been chronicling his experiences since he first announced his trip to the International Space Station, received unprecedented visitor traffic. During the 14 days Dr. Simonyi was in space, the site garnered over 33.5 million hits. On launch day alone, the site had nearly 14 million hits from people who tuned in to watch live coverage, which is now archived on the site.
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