Ansari's first glimpse of Earth 'peaceful'

Ansari's first glimpse of Earth 'peaceful'

Anousheh Ansari booked her place in history books after becoming the first female space tourist when the Russian made Soyuz vehicle blasted off from the launch pad on September 22.

The Iranian-American businesswoman from Dallas paid a reported sum of $20 million to the Russian space agency to reserve her ticket on the capsule. Though feeling a bit "queasy" Ansari is thoroughly enjoying her trip in outer space. "The entire experience has been wonderful up here.”
She is reportedly suffering from back pain, a headache and motion sickness but felt "peaceful" when she got her first glimpse of the Earth from outer space. " It was so beautiful and peaceful ... It was something I will never forget," she said.

She reported to the space station along with two new station crew, U.S. commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian flight engineer Mikhail Tyurin, who will be replacing Russian commander Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. flight engineer Jeff Williams. Both Vinogradov and Williams will be returning to Earth along with Ansari next week. Ansari believes that in order to promote space among the public, it is essential for the government to collaborate with private companies.

The International space Station must be completed by 2010, as NASA will be retiring the current shuttle fleet in that year. Earlier in the month the shuttle Atlantis made a successful 11-day journey to the ISS to install solar power arrays. Two days before the Soyuz arrived, the ISS had an emergency of sorts when toxic gas leaked out. However the leak was plugged before Ansari arrived.