Posted on 09/29/2006 5:56:19 AM PDT by indcons
ANOUSHEH ANSARI, the world’s first female paying space tourist, returned to Earth today after an 11 days in space capped by the bone-jarring journey home from the international space station.
Ansari, Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and US astronaut Jeffrey Williams had left the station aboard a cramped Russian Soyuz capsule a little over three hours before landing as dawn broke over the steppes of Kazakhstan.
After the capsule entered the Earth’s atmosphere, search and rescue teams in three planes and 12 helicopters tracked the trajectory and scrambled to help pull the crew out of the craft, which landed on its side.
Meanwhile, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported that a Russian firm had recently begun producing custom-made underwear embroidered with the emblem of the mission.
“And a surprise has been prepared on Earth for the charming female tourist Ansari: a set of underwear with original embroidery,” ITAR-Tass reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at icwales.icnetwork.co.uk ...
"[...] Ansari, an Iran-born American telecommunications entrepreneur, was a last-minute choice for the mission, which blasted off from the Russian manned space launch complex in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on September 18."
"[...] In her native Iran, Ansari has become an inspiration to many women who chafe at the country’s male-dominated rule. Scores of women went to an observatory near Tehran last week to watch the space station streak across the sky at dawn."
You know...if I ever found myself going up in one of those shuttles...I might need new underwear after such a ride, too!
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