<![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, space adventures]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gawker.com.png <![CDATA[Gawker: valleywag, space adventures]]> http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/spaceadventures http://gawker.com/tag/valleywag/spaceadventures <![CDATA[Martha Stewart's Microsoft-billionaire ex-boyfriend to go back into space]]> Charles Simonyi, the Microsoft billionaire who paid $25 million for a 13-day stay on the International Space Station in April 2007, plans to return on another Russian rocket in 2009, says Virginia-based Space Adventures, which didn't say how much he was spending this time. Simonyi, who made his money helping Microsoft develop Excel as well as word, had been dating Martha Stewart for 15 years before they broke up in February; he's now engaged to Lisa Persdotter, a 28-year-old Swede, according to reports. Is she more tolerant of his rocketing career?

]]> http://gawker.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5057489&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Cosmotourist sues when he doesn't get his cosplay spacewalk]]> Ever since he was a little boy, former Livedoor executive Daisuke Enomoto dreamed of going to space, but has ended up in court alleging fraud on the part of Space Adventures, the space tourism company which runs flights out of Star City, Russia. He was all set to realize his dream after paying $21 million for 10-days in space, including a spacewalk wearing the costume of his favorite Gundam character. But he got kicked off the rocket for X Prize founder Anousheh Ansari in 2006 after a spot medical check disqualified him. And that's where the fun begins.

Enomoto claims the checkup results were a convenient lie, and that Space Adventures had never had permission to offer the spacewalk but demanded another $10 million from him for the privelege anyway. He also alleges that Ansari basically bought her way ahead of him in line by making an "investment," which he was also pestered to do. Space Adventures's attorney John Villa says the company will not be offering a refund, and that's that. Sounds like a typical tourist package shakedown, frankly — wonder how much they'll take Ultima creator Richard Garriott and Google cofounder Sergey Brin for between now and liftoff?

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