Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 08:08, 26 September 2006

Template:In Space

Anousheh Ansari (Template:Lang-fa) is the Iranian-American co-founder and chairman of Prodea Systems, Inc. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of telecom technologies, inc. (TTI). She became the world's first female space tourist, the first female Muslim, and the first Iranian in space on 18 September 2006.

Early life

Born Anoushesh Raissyan on 12 September 1966 in Mashhad, Iran, Ansari and her parents moved to Tehran shortly afterward. Ansari witnessed the Iranian Revolution in 1979. She emigrated to the United States in 1984 as a teenager who did not speak English in part, according to CNN, "because her family wanted her to pursue her passion for the sciences to the fullest extent possible."

She received her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer science at George Mason University and her master's degree at George Washington University.

After graduation, Ansari began work at MCI, where she met her future husband, Hamid Ansari. They married in 1991.

She is fluent in English and French as well as her native Persian and has also been acquiring a working knowledge of Russian for her space mission.

Business career

In 1993, she persuaded her husband, and brother-in-law Amir Ansari, to co-found Telecom Technologies, Inc. using their savings and corporate retirement accounts, as a wave of deregulation hit the telecommunications industry. The company was acquired by Sonus Networks, Inc. in 2000 for $550 million dollars in stock. Since the sale, Sonus' stock has fallen from $40 a share to under $5. Ansari and eight other individuals are the defendants in a shareholder suit that, among other things, accuses her of insider trading.

Ansari has received multiple honors, including the George Mason University Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, the George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southwest Region. While under her leadership, Telecom Technologies, Inc. earned recognition as one of Inc. magazine's 500 fastest-growing companies and one of Deloitte & Touche’s Fast 500 technology companies. She was listed in Fortune magazine's "40 under 40" list in 2001 and honored by Working Woman magazine as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award.

Space-related career

Ansari is a member of the X Prize Foundation’s Vision Circle, as well as its Board of Trustees. Along with her brother-in-law, Amir Ansari, she made a multi-million dollar contribution to the X-Prize foundation on 5 May 2004, the 43rd anniversary of Alan Shepard's sub-orbital spaceflight. The X-Prize was officially renamed the Ansari X Prize in honor of their donation.

The Ansari family investment firm, also named Prodea, has announced a partnership with Space Adventures, Ltd. and the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation (FSA) to create a fleet of suborbital spaceflight vehicles (the Space Adventures Explorer) for global commercial use.

Ansari trained as a backup for Daisuke Enomoto for a Soyuz flight to the International Space Station, through Space Adventures, Ltd. On 21 August 2006, Enomoto was medically disqualified from flying the Soyuz TMA-9 mission that was due to launch the following month. The next day Ansari was elevated to the prime crew. Asked what she hoped to achieve on her spaceflight, Ansari said, "I hope to inspire everyone—especially young people, women, and young girls all over the world, and in Middle Eastern countries that do not provide women with the same opportunities as men—to not give up their dreams and to pursue them...It may seem impossible to them at times. But I believe they can realize their dreams if they keep it in their hearts, nurture it, and look for opportunities and make those opportunities happen." On 18 September 2006, the spacecraft blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, en route to the International Space Station (ISS), with Ansari becoming only the fourth (and first female) space tourist. Her contract forbids disclosure of the amount paid, but previous space tourists have paid in excess of US$20 million.

Activism

Ansari has an interest in social entrepreneurship. She has served on the boards of directors for the Make-a-Wish Foundation of North Texas and Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center. She works with a number of other non-profit organizations, including the Ashoka Foundation in its support of social entrepreneurs.

Current events

Ansari lifted off on the Soyuz TMA-9 mission with fellow cosmo/astronauts commander Mikhail Tyurin (Russian) and flight engineer Michael Lopez-Alegria (American) at 4:59 (UTC) on Monday, September 18, 2006 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The space craft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday September 20, 2006 at 5:21 (UTC)

During her eight-day stay onboard the International Space Station, Ansari has agreed to perform a series of experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency. She will conduct four experiments , including:

• Researching the mechanisms behind anemia.
• How changes in muscles influence lower back pain.
• Consequences of space radiation on ISS crew members and different species of microbes that have made a home for themselves on the space station.

Interviews

On 16 September, 2006, about 24 hours before her departure, an interview was aired with Anousheh Ansari on Channel 4 of Iran national TV. The interview was a live chat with her speaking from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the show Night's Sky, a program on current astronomy events that frequently hosts Iranian researchers and scientists. The hosts of the show wished her success and thanked her on behalf of Iranians. Ansari in return thanked them and called for people to witness how hard work and aspiration makes the seemingly-impossible possible. She urged women and men to think freely and let their imagination show the way to achievement, with an open mind, implying when ingredients of success are not necessarily present.

On 22 September, 2006, she told the reporters that she has no regrets and said "I am having a wonderful time here. It's been more than what I expected, and I am enjoying every single second of it. The entire experience has been wonderful up here,"

No politics

Ansari intended to wear the U.S. flag on her spacesuit and the version of the Iranian flag that predated the 1979 Islamic Revolution, to honor the two countries that have contributed to her life. At the insistence of the Russian and U.S. governments, she did not wear the Iranian flag, but wore the Iranian colors instead. She and her husband have said no political message was intended, despite the increasing tension in US-Iran relations, which has dominated world headlines in the weeks leading up to her historic launch. She says she "plans to devote her mission to expanding a global consciousness she expects will be seeded with her first look at Earth from space." On the September 18th, 2006 lift-off, Ansari accompanied the U.S.-Russian Expedition 14 crew on the Soyuz TMA-9 capsule. That crew, Spanish-American Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian Mikhail Tyurin, are starting a six-month stint in space. Ansari will return to Earth after ten days with the Expedition 13 crew on the Soyuz TMA-8 capsule..

Reactions concerning Ansari's visit

Crewmates

Michael Lopez-Alegria, the Spanish-born U.S. professional astronaut who flew on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on which Ansari was a passenger, and reflecting the American space agency NASA's unease about space tourists on the unfinished space station, expressed his doubts to reporters before their flight: "I'm not a big fan personally of having those guys go visit the space station because I think the space station is still a place that is under construction and not quite operational. I don't think it's ideal."

However, according to a recent Associated Press story, Lopez-Alegria stated that he was skeptical of private tourists a few years ago, but now believes it is essential to the survival of the Russian space progam which is important to the U.S. space program: "If that's the correct solution... then not only is it good from the standpoint of supporting the Russian space program, but it's good for us as well," he said. Ansari's presence in space "is a great dream and a great hope not just for our country but for countries all around the world."

The same Associated Press story also quoted cosmonaut Tyurin describing Ansari as "very professional" and said he felt like they had worked together for a decade.

In Iran

In Iran, Anousheh Ansari's flight received mixed reviews. On one hand it was repeatedly covered by IRIB (the state broadcaster) and praised by newspapers such as Hambastegi. But on the other hand this broad coverage was criticized by other newspapers, such as Jomhoury Eslami which fear this hype would create a bad role model for young Iranians.

See also

• Iranian women
• List of famous Persian women
• Prodea Systems, a consumer electronics company Ansari co-founded

References

1. GINA SUNSERI, First Female Space Tourist Takes Off, ABC News,
2. Traci Watson. "For Iranian native, trip to space her lifelong dream". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
3. Shamil Zhumatov. "Iranian-born space tourist blasts off into orbit". Reuters. Retrieved 2006-09-18.
4. "Alumni news". George Mason University. 2001. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
5. "Female space tourist blasts off". 2006-09-18. Retrieved 2006-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |pulisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
6. Emily Yaghmour. "Failure Was Never an Option for Mason Alumna". George Mason University alumni newsletter. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
7. "First female space tourist poised for launch". 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2006-09-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |pulisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
8. WARREN E. LEARY, She Dreamed of the Stars; Now She’ll Almost Touch Them, NY Times , September 12, 2006
9. Koeng, David (2006-09-16). "Iranian-Born Woman to Be Space Tourist". Lycos News. Retrieved 2006-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. "Board of Trustees". X PRIZE Foundation. Retrieved 2006-09-11.
11. "Space Tourism Pioneers, Space Adventures, and the Ansari X Prize Title Sponsors to Provide First Suborbital Spaceflight Tourism Vehicles". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
12. "Iranian Woman Blazes Trail Into Space". Spacedaily.com. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
13. "Iranian-born American approved to replace Japanese space tourist". Novosti. Retrieved 2006-08-22.
14. "Interview with Anousheh Ansari, the First Female Space Tourist". Retrieved 2006-09-19.
15. ""Lift-off for woman space tourist "". BBC News Online. 2006-09-18. Retrieved 2006-09-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. ""Space tourist, new crew board ISS"". BBC News Online. 2006-09-20. Retrieved 2006-09-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
17. "IESA experiments with spaceflight participant Ansari to ISS". Retrieved 2006-09-22.
18. Maher, Heather (2006-09-15). "U.S.: Iranian-American To Be First Female Civilian In Space". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 2006-09-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
19. Slater, Shelly (2006-09-14). "Local space tourist's Iran patch spurs dispute". Retrieved 2006-09-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "WFAA (online)" ignored (help)
20. "INTERVIEW: From space, a new view of an Iranian". Yahoo. Retrieved 2006-09-18.
21. Than, Ker (2006-09-16). "First Female Space Tourist, Next ISS Crew Set to Launch". space.com. Retrieved 2006-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. Eckel, Mike (2006-09-18). "First female space tourist blasts off". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2006-09-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
23. Writers, AFP Staff (2006-09-19). "Iran Daily Attacks Coverage Of 'Rich Iranian' In Space". Spacedaily.com. Retrieved 2006-09-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• Personal website
• Anousheh Ansari Space Blog
• NASA information International Space Station
• Spacefacts biography of Anousheh Ansari
• Up, Up, and Away!

• 1966 births
• Entrepreneurs
• Iranian people
• Iranian Americans
• Space tourism
• Iranian astronauts
• American astronauts
• Living people
• Women in space
• Muslim women