Richard Garriott Plans Flight Into Space

Legendary game designer Richard Garriott is moving forward with plans for a trip to the International Space Station in October 2008. Garriott is teaming up with Space Adventures and ExtremoZyme to make the flight happen.

Space Adventures has designed a series of missions to "increase commercial involvement in manned space missions,"--in other words, letting ordinary folks into space for the right amount of cash.

ExtremoZyme is a biotechnology co-founded by Garriott's dad, Owen, who just happens to have been an astronaut in his day. Richard plans on conducting protein crystallization experiments for the company while he's floating around in space:

I am dedicating my spaceflight to science. It is my goal to devote a significant amount of my time aboard the space station to science, engineering and educational projects. I understand the necessity for conducting research in extreme environments whether it is collecting microorganisms from deep sea hydrothermal vents to carrying out experiments in the continuous micro-gravity of Earth orbit. We need to be adventurous in mind and simulate our intellects to answer today's most daunting scientific questions and to invent tomorrow's technological marvels.

Here's hoping they need a game journalist or two to cover the trip. Click here to keep up to date on the mission's progress.