Out of This World

Cabin John, MD: When you escaped Hungary as a teen, did you ever image that you would someday escape the earth's atmosphere?

Charles Simonyi: Not in my wildest dreams - really. It is an amazing thing that nonastronauts can fly at all.

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Seattle, WA: Are there age limits for space travel? If so, do they differ for NASA and the space tourism program? (In other words, is the space tourism program more lenient?)

Charles Simonyi: Sen. Glenn was the oldest person ever to fly (I believe he was over 70 when he flew). But space tourism is much more lenient about flying rookies. For example, among the top 4 oldest rookies (among all the 450 humans that flew in space), #1, #2, and #4 are tourists (I am # 4). This makes sense. NASA (as well as the Russians) will fly experienced people, who tend to be older, but will prefer the younger people as rookies.

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Houston, TX: Was it worth the money? Do you think the price tag will come down anytime soon?

Charles Simonyi: Yes it was - and there was no guarantee that I would fly, in which case I think the contribution and the learning experience would have been worth it.

Suborbital flights will be much cheaper. For orbital flights in the short term the price will go up, not down, as governments (such as Malaysia) start buying the seats and the supply is not going to increase.

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Brooklyn, NY: What was the biggest challenge for you in training to be an astronaut (or space tourist)?

Were there any moments in space when you thought: "Uh oh, what have I gotten myself into?"

Charles Simonyi: I think the biggest challenge during the training was just to focus on the next step and not to get lost in all the difficulties at once.

The spaceflight was much easier than the training - partly because they train you for the worst case and partly because during training many things were new an unknown to me, while during flight all was familiar.

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Cleveland, OH: Do you still work with Microsoft? How do you spend your time (money) these days?

Charles Simonyi: No, I have my own company Intentional Software Corporation, but I keep in touch with my Microsoft friends. I spend my time and my money on making our business - a new software tool called the Domain Workbench - successful.

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Salem, OR: Do you think space tourism will become cheap enough in our lifetime that Americans who are not multi-millionaires will have an opportunity to take part?

Charles Simonyi: I have no doubts that suborbital spaceflight will be common by 2015, and normal (for example as scenic flights in Hawaii are normal) by 2050 the latest.

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Clemson, S.C.: At the GOP debate, the candidates were mostly negative about spending money on space exploration, sending man to Mars. Do you think this is shortsighted?

Charles Simonyi: It is a difficult question. A tepid approach is probably not a good idea in any case, and by circumstance that is what people are debating today. It will take a special time and a special politician to say, like Pres. Kennedy did: "we choose to do it not because it is easy, but because it is hard. It will organize and measure the best of our energies and skills."