|
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Stars in her eyes
She has a pretty face, and eyes that twinkle like the stars. These belie the fact that she is a science whiz and that she has something more than meets the eye.
A woman of "firsts." This woman who answers to the name Anousheh Ansari is set to become this September, the first female Muslim in space, first Iranian-born person in space, and the first female space tourist.
Ansari is set to ride to the station aboard a Soyuz TMA-9 capsule, along with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and Spanish-born US astronaut Miguel Lopez-Alegria. If all plans push through, Sept. 14 will see her fly among the stars.
It isn’t a cheap trip. Her contract bars her from even hinting at the trip’s cost, but she did note that previous space tourists coughed up some $20 million. Yes, you heard right; dollars.
So how did this lady land in such an enviable position?
Ansari was in training as a backup for Daisuke Enomoto for a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station, through Space Adventures, Ltd. (SAL), the world’s leading space tourism company. On Aug. 21, Enomoto was medically disqualified from flying the Soyuz TMA-9 mission.
Was it luck, or was it written in the stars? The next day she was elevated to the prime crew. She will go into space sooner than she expected, becoming the fourth, and first female, space tourist.
Her Odyssey started in Iran
Born in 1966 in Mashhad, Iran, Ansari witnessed the Iranian revolution in 1979. She immigrated to the United States in 1984.
She holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from George Mason University. She is also a member of Eta Kappa Nu.
She is a co-founder and chairman of Prodea systems, Inc. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and chief executive officer of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI).
Ansari, along with her husband Hamid and brother-in-law Amir, founded TTI in 1993. The company was acquired by Sonus Networks, Inc. in 2000.
Most recently, Prodea systems has announced the formation of a partnership with SAL and the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation to create a fleet of suborbital spaceflight vehicles (the Space Adventures Explorer) for global commercial use.
This woman has caught the eye of the community. She was listed in Fortune magazine’s “40 under 40” list in 2001.
She was honored by Working Woman magazine as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award, and was chosen as the winner of the 1999 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Southwest Region, for the Technology and Communications category.
Had enough? The woman writes. She has authored numerous technical papers and has two patents for her work on "Automated Operator Services and Wireless Service Node." She was a representative at the American National Standard Institute T1S1 and T1X1 Technical Subcommittees.
There’s really more to Ansari than meets the eye. And with that eye, she is looking into a possible 2008 flight to the International Space Station. (www.wikipedia/www.anoushehansari.com/girlgeeks.org /www.space.com/news)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 10, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
