A piece of history in orbit

Neil — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 02:58:13 GMT

Cool story and good for her.. but this is just a flash... much ado about a woman. The media is treating her as if she is a special needs person or not as capable of going into space etc... I bet she can hold her breath and jump rope too, but that doesn't make her great.

I am much more impressed by the fact that she is where she inspite of Iranian roots. She shunned life in Iran and with hard work, dedication, and sacrefice, she did very well in the US.
If she stayed in Iran, we would never have known her. That history is compelling. That she is spending her money and time on going to space is not.

A piece of history in orbit

Thom — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:39:19 GMT

I applaud the effort made by Ms. Ansari. She is a credit to the United States and her native country of Iran.

Shame on the Bush admistration for suggesting to her that she remove her countries flag (Iran) from her flight suit. It just shows that this administration will stop at nothing to make their point, no matter what lies they tell the Americam people. They instead should be promoting her achievement to the Iranian people. Goodwill can create many miracles if put forth in a friendly, positive manner. This is something in which this administration is totally clueless.

A piece of history in orbit

Chad Steele, Sarasota, FL — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:49:14 GMT

I Think it's fantastic. Well done Ansari.

You do what we dream of.

May you return safe.

Chad.

A piece of history in orbit

Brandon Cangiano, Mojave Ca — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 03:55:10 GMT

No great endevour is just a "flash in the pan" but instead a series of false starts, setbacks and most of all a great learning curve. The real race for space is not in the past but only just beginning, the future will be filled with triumph, failure, joy and sorrow, but whatever may come we will meet it with determination, and we will not be afraid to take the next step ourselves. The future of space will be written by those who choose to go, not by those who are chosen to go.

A piece of history in orbit

Andrew Washington, D.C. — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:07:14 GMT

Too much hype on this guestnaut.
She's rich and connected, thats what got her on board.
The IRS could claim her as a big supporter too assuming she pays her taxes:)

Seems like a lot of money is going into space...when there are so many problems to fix right here on earth...Darfur, Somalia, Lebanon, poverty, AIDS, pollution, global warming, starvation, bird flu, malaria, on and on...

A piece of history in orbit

Richard French Vancouver BC — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:11:23 GMT

Few women can offer a better becaon of hope to millions of Iranian women forced into a life of servitude and mindless drudgery by the strict edicts of the ruling Islamic mulluahs. Had she stayed, that would have almost surely been her fate. In America, there was a better way.

A piece of history in orbit

Phil Sweetland Baton Rouge, LA — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 05:38:28 GMT

Anousheh Ansari will go down in history as one of the Space Pioneers that used some of her resources to further mankinds search of the Universe. Phil Sweetland

A piece of history in orbit

Jesus Maldonado, Seattle, Washington — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 06:52:30 GMT

It's wonderful to hear that a person that isn't trained in such a field as astronautics would go into space for the first time. However, i'm still waiting for the comman person to venture out into space, and hoping that one day and average person of minimal importance can report an extraordinary experience that we can all cherish.

A piece of history in orbit

Patrick Bishop — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 11:49:33 GMT

Anousheh for President!

A piece of history in orbit

Dennis, Richmond VA — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:57:32 GMT

A Hero can be a Hero to many people. By wearing the flags of both the country of her birth, and the country she lives in might give some cause for ire, but really, maybe it's more of a chance to open eyes and hearts and stop passing up chances for peace. As for me, she's my hero because she's cute, and she's in space. Some will allow her trip to pass quickly from mind, while others will remember it forever. It's only the press that wishes to label it as just one thing or the other. One person's flash in the pan can be another's brilliant illumination.

A piece of history in orbit

Paul Chapman, Syracuse, New York — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 14:52:52 GMT

It bothers me to see people complain about politics and cost with this issue. How much does it cost to bring the world together? What political party is most responceable? We spend more money funding meaningless things, and party members seem to take any issue and turn it around to make themselves look better If just for a moment we stand together it's worth it!

A piece of history in orbit

stuart Witt — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:14:00 GMT

Alan,

What Ms. Ansari is doing is the real deal. She set her sights on a goal and today she is realizing the fruit of her labor. I'm so happy for her and all peace seeking persons worldwide.

Stuart Witt, Ridgecrest CA (Mojave Spaceport)

A piece of history in orbit

hossien.k — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:29:07 GMT

you did a great work i hope yuo return safe

A piece of history in orbit

Tom Selinka, Londonderry, NH — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:57:11 GMT

I applaud the publicity being made about Anousheh Ansari's flight and wish her Godspeed. However, in the historical sense, I fear her flight will be relegated to a footnote much like the flight of the British Cosmonaut Helen Sharman.

A piece of history in orbit

Frank Glover — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 03:13:25 GMT

Perhaps. But like Dennis Tito, I'm sure she's doing it for the personal experience, as many of us would, wether we were the first, or the 10,000th.

That's what tourism is.

A piece of history in orbit

Lee Valentine — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 20:52:16 GMT

I believe that it would be hard to overstate her contribution to opening the universe to humanity. She and her family saved the X Prize. Without SpaceShipOne's successful flight it's doubtful that Congress would have given the FAA statutory authority to permit suborbital space tourism. The change in viewpoint among staffers on Capitol Hill was like turning on a light switch. Her present flight shows the world, in a dramatic fashion, that space is for everyone, not just highly accomplished Russian and American pilots.

A piece of history in orbit

j, Oakland, CA — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 00:09:15 GMT

Ms Ansari's achievements are a golden opportunity at a critical time, being missed by Washington spin-doctors. An Iranian accomplishing in the West what she couldn't do at home? It was a very effective story during the cold war, and it always will be.. BTW, I am **so** sick of complaints about the expense of space travel. such transparent sour-grapes anti-intellectualism! Will Monday night football find a cure for cancer? Will smoking cigarettes end poverty? Will titanic untrackable no-bid military contracts stop global warming? Will cocaine use promote better government? (for that matter, will the DEA?) Critics, if you're going to target something we spend ludicrous amounts of money on, please look first to those activities that are *also* actively doing great harm! And then -after you've saved *those* trillions of dollars/yr- to those activites that are providing no positive contribution. When those two categories of money pits are reduced to somewhat more reasonable proportions, then -and only then- should we be talking about reducing budgets of activities that make the world a better place - both through research, and by offering shining examples of the human potential for doing things that are exciting and that don't involve shooting people or stealing from them in one way or another.