May 27, 2010
In the midst of America's uncertain future in space travel, video game entrepreneur Richard Garriott delivered a message of optimism to those who attended his talk and film screening on May 4, sponsored by the UT Austin chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Garriott, an Austinite who made headlines in October, 2008 for his 12-day trip to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, paid $30 million for the ticket and spent a year preparing for the flight so he could follow his NASA astronaut father's footsteps into space. (His father Owen Garriott rode a Saturn rocket to Skylab 2 in 1973.) The documentary, Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission, which debuted at SXSW this spring, introduces Garriott's early life and traces his dream from its beginnings in his youth to its reality two years ago.
Though frequently referred to as a space tourist, Garriott emphasized that he made the experience a productive one that went beyond simple sightseeing and personal fulfillment. He conducted a variety of experiments, including one to test his laser-corrected eyesight for NASA and another growing protein crystals in a zero-gravity environment that could eventually lead to major advancements in medical therapies. There were also creative exploits, such as the first-ever space art show and the first narrative movie filmed in space. Garriott also discussed some of the more challenging aspects of traveling in space not often considered, such as the delicate and lengthy process of using the bathroom, which he explained using a toothpaste tube metaphor.
Following the screening, Garriott outlined his vision of the future of space travel, including a “barnstorming era of suborbital” activities in the next three to five years. He described various private initiatives ranging from his own company Space Adventures to the programs of companies like SpaceX to the expansion into space of the Virgin franchise.
Garriott said he believes there will be an outpost on Mars in the next few decades and that a private ship will be the next thing to land on the moon, where property rights may soon become important.
After taking questions from the audience, Garriott had a few questions of his own for those in attendance, testing aerospace engineering students' expertise about whether matches will light (and stay lit) in space and whether burping is possible in space.
