POSTED: 6:00 p.m. EDT, April 9, 2007
KOROLYOV, Russia (AP) -- Two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. billionaire who helped develop Microsoft Word floated into the international space station early Tuesday -- to the earthbound applause of Martha Stewart and others at Mission Control.
The lifestyle guru was among Russian and American officials and visitors monitoring the docking at Russian Mission Control, on Moscow's outskirts, as onboard TV cameras showed the Soyuz nearing the station and then jerking to a stop. Stewart is a friend of Charles Simonyi, the American who shelled out $20-25 million to be the world's fifth paying private space traveler.
The Soyuz capsule docked automatically with the ISS and Simonyi and two Russian cosmonauts entered the space station about 90 minutes later.
A video linkup at Russian Mission Control in Korolyov, on Moscow's outskirts, showed the three smiling and getting hugs and backslaps from the three-member crew already on the station.
The arrival of a new crew is always a happy event, and this time the residents are getting an extra treat -- the gourmet dinner brought by Simonyi.
The menu, including quail marinated in wine, was selected by Stewart, who was also on hand at Baikonur for the rocket's launch Saturday.
Simonyi returns to Earth on April 20, along with Russian Mikhail Tyurin and the American astronaut Miguel Lopez-Alegria, who have been on the station since September. The other U.S. astronaut, Sunita Williams, will remain on board with cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov.
The dinner is to be eaten on Thursday, which Russia marks as Cosmonauts' Day, the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin making the first manned space flight in 1961.
Simonyi, 58, was born in Hungary but now lives in the United States, where he amassed a fortune through his work in computer software, including helping to develop Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.
Simonyi brought along a sample of the paper computer tapes he used decades ago when he first learned programming on a bulky Soviet machine called Ural-2.
While at the space station, Simonyi will be conducting a number of experiments, including measuring radiation levels and studying biological organisms inside the lab.
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A billionaire would be welcomed just about anywhere. In Vegas that means a private jet (and pilot) to fly you in and out of any destination, a limo, a luxurious suite with its own pool, and a steak dinner waiting for you when you get there - all "comped" by the casino.
Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue that counts.