Google's Brin books a space flight

Google largely conquered the Earth now it is taking aim at space. 

At least co-founder Sergei Brin will. Brin today said he put down $5 million toward a flight to the international space station in 2011. Brin’s space travel will be brokered by Space Adventures, the space outfit that sent billionaire software developer Charles Simonyi to the station I 2007. Computer game developer and  son of former NASA astronaut, Richard Garriott, is currently planning a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2008. Garriott is paying at least $30 million to launch toward the space station aboard a Russian Soyuz spaceship according to Space Adventures.   

In a NY Times article this morning Brin, said: “I am a big believer in the exploration and commercial development of the space frontier, and am looking forward to the possibility of going into space.” Google is also a sponsor of the Google Lunar X Prize, a $25 million competition to land an unmanned craft on the moon.   

Speaking about why people want to even take part on space travel, an FAA executive recently said such adventures were  akin to scaling Mount Everest.

"There can be no question that climbing Mount Everest is a risky personal choice. So is riding a rocket into space,"said FAA Administrator Dr. George C. Nield.

"Passengers will be riding a vessel packed with a volatile mix of carefully processed chemical ingredients, thousands of interdependent parts, and extremely sophisticated software. And they will be bound for an inhospitable environment far, far away from where they bought their tickets," Nield said. "Private human space flight is like climbing Mount Everest with a lot farther to fall." 

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