by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

For eight years, they thundered aloft in cramped Russian spacecraft from a former Soviet spaceport in Kazakhstan, battling bureaucracy and gravity to blaze a trail across the heavens and redefine what it meant to be a space traveler. No longer would access to orbit be limited to highly trained astronauts chosen on merit and working on behalf of their nations; instead, space would be open to any sufficiently healthy people with enough money and moxie to qualify.

Richard Branson and then-Gov. Bill Richardson. (Credit: Douglas Messier)

By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

Forbes has released its annual list of the world’s billionaires. There are a record 1,426 individuals with an aggregate net worth of $5.4 trillion in the world. The table below shows the tiny handful of this group — nine individuals — who are currently or have been previously involved in space projects.

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By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

Elon Musk has made his first appearance on the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires. The 40-year-old entrepreneur has landed at 634 on the list with an estimated net worth of $2 billion.

Musk has developed the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon vehicle to send cargo and crew to the International Space Station. His company, SpaceX, has received money under NASA’s COTS  (for cargo) and CCDev (crew) programs. He is also reported to have invested up to $100 million of his own funds into SpaceX.

In addition to his involvement with SpaceX, Musk is a trustee of the X PRIZE Foundation, whose space competitions include the Ansari X Prize, the Google Lunar X Prize and the Northrup Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge.

The South African-born entrepreneur also runs two other companies, the electric car producer Tesla Motors and SolarCity, which provides solar energy systems.

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Space clown drew more news coverage than Afghan mission
CBC News

Canada’s first space clown can brag that his recent trip to the cosmos generated at least 23 times more international news coverage this year than the country’s mission in Afghanistan.

The figure comes from a media research group hired by Guy Laliberté, the Cirque du Soleil founder who recently became Canada’s first space tourist.

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Guy Laliberté recalls ‘amazing ride’ in space
Vancouver Sun

Canadian billionaire space tourist Guy Laliberté spoke with wonder Tuesday about his two-week voyage in space, calling his experience an amazing ride while admitting he had on occasion felt queasy.

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Guy Laliberte (first row, far right) aboard the International Space Station.

Final bill for Cirque founder’s trip to space could rise another $10 million
The Canadian Press

The final tab for Guy Laliberte’s visit to the International Space Station could rise to nearly C$50 million (US$47.2 million) after this week’s elaborate international show linking the Cirque du Soleil founder with his terrestrial counterparts.

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Cirque du Soleil’s Guy Laliberte describes training for his upcoming space tourism flight to the International Space Station.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte told reporters he plans to tickle the professional astronauts while they’re sleeping, and he’s also bringing red clown noses to try to lighten things up on the orbiting station.

Space tourist Guy Laliberte of Cirque du Soleil took tests this week with two cosmonauts for their upcoming flight to the International Space Station.

AFP reports that when Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte flies into orbit next month on his space tourism joyride, we should be prepared for some wackiness:

Already his screen saver pictures his mission colleagues — US astronaut Jeffrey Williams and cosmonaut Maksim Surayev — in space suits and red clown noses, and he says he will bring six more clown snouts to those now in orbit.

Ah, exciting stuff!

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