Iranian woman, Anousheh Ansari, is over the moon
Member on the next crew of the International Space Station, Iranian born , USA entrepeneur Anousheh Ansari waves during the farewell ceremony as she enters the Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft before the launch at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Monday 18 September 2006. Ansari who will spend ten days in space is accompanied on the flight by US astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin to the International Space Station for the 14th long term mission, EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV
Iranian born telecom tycoon Anousheh Ansari left Iran when she was 16, and says that space is “in my soul and in my heart”.
Ansari was one of many Iranian refugees who fled Iran's oppressive mullahs. She became the first Iranian-born astronaut, and was circling Earth just last night.
Her fated journey from Tehran to the International Space Station was being celebrated also as the continued power of the real American dream, achievable by anyone from anywhere with the drive and vision to perform and succeed.
Mrs Ansari was 16 when her family emigrated in 1984 as the Islamic Revolution in Iran was at its peak and girls faced a strictly limited future. Her parents said that they wanted her to be able to pursue her passion for science.
Anousheh Ansari would stare in wonder at the stars and dream of joining them in the blackness of space as a teenager in Iran.
Yesterday, a week after her 40th birthday, she made her dream come true. At an estimated cost of $20 million (£11 million), Mrs Ansari became the first woman space tourist after blasting off in a Russian Soyuz rocket from Star City in Kazakhstan.
Ansari arrived in the USA speaking only French and Farsi, then she became an American citizen and quickly immersed herself in the study of electronics, receiving degrees in electrical engineering and computer science at George Mason University in Virginia and George Washington University in Washington.
Mrs Ansari joined a telecommunications company, where she met her husband, Hamid. In 1993 she persuaded him and his brother to pool their savings and set up Telecom Technologies, a supplier of communication networks, just as the industry in America was deregulating.
The start-up mushroomed and turned the Ansaris into telecom tycoons when the business was sold for hundreds of millions of dollars in 2000.
Mrs Ansari turned her eyes again to the stars. She gave $10 million in 2002 to the X Prize Foundation, set up to encourage advances in human spaceflight, as a prize for the first private venture to launch a reusable spacecraft into space twice in two weeks.
The Ansari X Prize was claimed in 2004 by Mojave Aerospace Ventures.
When the impoverished Russian space programme at the Baikonur centre in Star City began accepting paying passengers on missions, Ansari signed up.
Space Adventures, the American firm that markets the trips, does not disclose the price but is understood to charge $20 million a ticket, most of which goes to the Russians.
Ansari prepped with six months of intensive training for the 11-day spaceflight with two professional astronauts, Michael López-Alegría, from Nasa, and the Russian Mikhail Tyurin.
They are due to dock tomorrow at the space station, where Mrs Ansari will spend eight days before returning to Earth with the departing crew, Pavel Vinogradov, of Russia, and the American , Jeffrey Williams, on September 29.
Ansari said before take-off that she was looking forward to seeing Iran again from high above Earth. She has not been to her homeland since she left.
She has hopes that a new generation of Iranian girls with similarly big dreams will be staring back at her up among the stars. She 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 realise their dream if they keep it in their hearts, nurture it and look for opportunities and make those opportunities happen.”
Ansari's mother, Fakhri Shahidi, said: “It’s hard to believe my daughter is going to space. I pray with all my heart she’s coming back soon.”
First Female Private Space Explorer & Space Ambassador
Anousheh Ansari, has been officially named to the Soyuz TMA-9 primary crew. The first female spaceflight participant will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 18, 2006 en route to the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Expedition 14 crew members: NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin.
“By reaching this dream I’ve had since childhood, I hope to tangibly demonstrate to young people all over the world that there is no limit to what they can accomplish,” said Anousheh Ansari, chairman and co-founder of Prodea Systems, Inc.
Anousheh's Blog - Last Post
I’m hours away from my flight…
It is hard to believe that I’m here. It is still all a daze…
It is hard to explain my feelings… a strange mix of excitement and anxiety. Strangely enough my anxiety is for those who await me here on Earth. My family… I know how hard this must be on them. I must say I’m not enjoying this stage of it all. I just want to get the launch behind me and start floating in the wonderful weightlessness of space.
In a way I think that when I start floating I will be free from all fears, all anxieties, all expectations… It willl only be me… free from it all…
As I await this wonderful moment of weightlessness, everything here is starting to weigh more… I can feel the pressure of the air I’m breathing on my chest and it is getting heavier… It feels like waiting in a doctor’s office for the test results.
Everyone told me Greg Olson was incredibly calm on the day of his flight. I asked Greg how could he keep himself so calm. He said that when he was sitting there, inside the Soyuz, he knew for sure that he would be flying and no one could stop him anymore. No more doctors, no more exams, no more ceremonies… I cannot wait to get there…
…
I had to take a break from writing, to go visit my family. They were all here… As soon as we saw each other behind the glass wall the tears started rolling down. It was hard for everyone. My sister Atousa was trying hard to be the strong one and fighting her tears but there was no use fighting it. After we got the crying out of the way, we continued to talk and joke around and I felt everyone was getting more at ease. I certainly was. All the butterflies from the morning were gone.
I know I will be back soon and will be able to hug them all and tell them all about my trip. My brother-in-law Amir was focusing on taping the whole event and my husband Hamid was being the coordinator of the group and keeping his mind off the flight. I looked in his eyes and saw love and admiration mixed with anxiety…
We said our goodbyes since I will only get a glimpse of them on my way to the rocket. It is almost 7 pm Baikonur time and I was supposed to sleep an hour ago. They will come to wake us up at 1:00 am to prepare and head out for the launch pad.
I feel very calm and content… a sort of a Zen-like feeling… It is all going to be fine…
I want to thank you all for following along with me and thank you for all your kind and supportive words… I was never a very social person and have only a handful of close friends. I feel like in a matter of a week I have new friends all over the world and I look forward to telling you all about the ride up to the ISS.
I will be signing off now for a couple of days since the internet onboard the Soyuz is not working 
Live Long and Prosper my friends -
Anousheh
and,Tabrizi Web Art Center team hopes you good luck Anousheh Ansari
Tabrizi Web Art Center team : Okay Açıkgöz , Gülbahar Karakoç , Navid Tabrizi , Selin Tabrizi , Alex Coselav,Nazila Tabrizi,Kiarash Qavam
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