Anousheh Ansari
Anousheh Ansari | |
---|---|
X Prize Foundation[1] | |
Spouse |
Hamid Ansari (m. 1991) |
Relatives | Electrical Engineer |
Space career | |
Spaceflight participant | |
Time in space | 10d 21h 5m |
Missions | Soyuz TMA-9/8 |
Website | anoushehansari |
Anousheh Ansari (
She is the CEO of the
Early life
Born Anousheh Raissyan in
She received her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer science at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and her master's degree at George Washington University in Washington D.C.[3][15][16]
Career
After graduation, Raissyan began work at MCI, where she met her future husband, Hamid Ansari. They married in 1991.[17]
In 1993, she persuaded her husband and her brother-in-law, Amir Ansari, to co-found Telecom Technologies Inc., using their savings and corporate retirement accounts, as deregulation happened in the US telecommunications industry.[
In 2006, she co-founded Prodea Systems and was the current chairwoman and CEO.[20] Prodea is a technology and services management company. Prodea is a privately held company formed by the Ansari family with development centers in Richardson, Texas, and Silicon Valley.
Space
Ansari has expressed that she does not consider herself a "space tourist" and prefers the title of "spaceflight participant."[21]
Ansari is a member of the
The Ansari family also invested in a partnership with
Spaceflight
Ansari trained as a backup for
Asked what she hoped to achieve on her spaceflight, Ansari 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—not to give up their dreams and to pursue them... It may seem impossible to them at times. But I believe they can realize their dreams if they keep it in their hearts, nurture it, and look for opportunities and make those opportunities happen."[27] The day before her departure, she was interviewed on Iran national television for the astronomy show Night's Sky.[28] The hosts wished her success and thanked her on behalf of the Iranians. Ansari in return thanked them.[29]
Ansari lifted off on the
During her nine-day[37] stay on board the International Space Station, Ansari agreed to perform a series of experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency. She conducted four experiments,[38] including:
- Researching the mechanisms behind anemia.
- How changes in muscles influence lower back pain.
- Consequences of space radiation on ISS crew members and different species of microbes that have made a home for themselves on the space station.
She also became the first person to publish a
Iranian flag controversy
Ansari intended to wear the
At the insistence of the NASA and Russian officials, she did not wear the Iranian flag officially but wore the Iranian flag colors instead and kept the Iranian flag on her official flight patch.[40] She and her husband said no political message was intended, despite the increasing tensions between the United States and Iran, which had dominated world headlines in the weeks leading up to her launch. She noted that she had "plans to devote her mission to expanding a global consciousness she expected would be seeded with her first look at Earth from space."
Reactions to Ansari's flight
Crewmates
Michael López-Alegría, the Spanish-born NASA astronaut who flew on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on the return flight with Ansari, expressed his doubts to reporters before the flight: "I'm not a big fan personally of having those guys go visit the space station because I think a space station is still a place that is under construction, and not quite operational. I don't think it's ideal."[41]
López-Alegría later stated that he was skeptical of private tourists a few years ago but now believes it is essential to the survival of the Russian space program, which is important to the U.S. space program: "If that's the correct solution... then not only is it good from the standpoint of supporting the Russian space program, but it's good for us as well," he said. Ansari's presence in space "is a great dream and a great hope not just for our country but for countries all around the world."[42]
The same Associated Press story also quoted Mikhail Tyurin describing Ansari as "very professional" and said he felt like they had worked together for a decade. López would eventually change his stance on tourism at the ISS and joined Axiom space, eventually commanding their first tourist mission.[43]
Reactions in Iran
The flight was given significant coverage by
Interviews
On September 22, 2006, she told reporters she had no regrets and said, "I am having a wonderful time here. It's been more than I expected, and I enjoy every second of it. The entire experience has been wonderful up here."[45]
Honors and awards
Ansari has received multiple honors, including the George Mason University Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, the George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southwest Region, and the
In 2009, she received the first NCWIT Symons Innovator Award given annually by the National Center for Women & Information Technology to honor successful women entrepreneurs in technology.[47]
She received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from her alma mater George Mason University on December 20, 2012.
The Ansari family was honored with an Orbit Award by the National Space Society and Space Tourism Society for underwriting the Ansari X Prize.[48]
In 2010, she was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor recognition of her humanitarian efforts.[49]
In 2015, the National Space Society awarded Ansari the Space Pioneer Award for her "Service to the Space Community."[50]
Other activities and public appearances
Ansari participated as a speaker at the 2010 Honeywell Leadership Academy with
In 2009, Ansari was featured in the documentary film Space Tourists by independent Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei about billionaires who paid to ride to the International Space Station aboard Russian spacecraft.[52] The DVD of the film was released in 2011.
She was the commencement speaker and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Utah Valley University on April 25, 2013.[53]
On February 26, 2017, she and
Ansari has served on the boards of directors for
Personal life
While working at MCI, she met Hamid Ansari. They married in 1991. The Ansaris reside in Plano, Texas. She is also the aunt of the American actors Yara Shahidi and Sayeed Shahidi.
See also
- Iranian women
- List of famous Iranian women
- List of International Space Station visitors
- Women in space
References
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- ^ a b "U.S.: Iranian-American To Be First Female Civilian In Space". RFE/RL. 2006-09-15. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
- ^ a b Buncombe, Andrew (2006-09-18). "Pride in space as Iran cheers first Muslim's journey to the stars".
- ^ "My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer". macmillan.com. Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ "Our Board". X Prize Foundation.
- ^ "Alumni news". George Mason University. 2001. Archived from the original on 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
- ^ Young, Nicola (2019-07-29). "Anousheh Ansari: From Space Tourist to Entrepreneur – Hayat Life". Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ Maher, Heather. "Reaching Out To The Stars". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ "Dare to Dream Bigger – Defying Limits with The First Iranian Woman in Space | Anousheh Ansari". Finding Mastery. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ Life, Kayhan (2017-10-01). "My Trip into Space: An Interview with Anousheh Ansari". KAYHAN LIFE. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ "Dare to Dream Bigger – Defying Limits with The First Iranian Woman in Space | Anousheh Ansari". Finding Mastery. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ "Female space tourist blasts off". CNN. 2006-09-18. Archived from the original on 20 September 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-18.
- ^ "Dare to Dream Bigger – Defying Limits with The First Iranian Woman in Space | Anousheh Ansari". Finding Mastery. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
- ^ Leary, Warren E. (September 12, 2006). "She Dreamed of the Stars; Now She'll Almost Touch Them". The New York Times.
- ^ Yaghmour, Emily. "Failure Was Never an Option for Mason Alumna". George Mason University alumni newsletter. Archived from the original on 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
- ^ Sunseri, Gina (September 18, 2006). "First Female Space Tourist Takes Off". abcnews.go.com. ABC News.
- ^ "First female space tourist poised for launch". CNN .com. 2006-09-15.
- ^ "Telecom Technologies Wins 2nd Straight Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award". press release. Sonus Networks. 2001-01-16. Archived from the original on 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ "Sonus Networks Completes Acquisition of Telecom Technologies". press release. Sonus Networks. 2001-01-18. Archived from the original on 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ "Prodea Systems: Management Team". prodeasystems.com. Prodea Systems. Archived from the original on 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
- ^ "Space for Business Newsletter article from February 2007: "I am NOT a tourist"". February 2007
- X PRIZE Foundation. Archivedfrom the original on 10 September 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-11.
- S2CID 128979357. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2020-02-27.
- ^ "Space Tourism Pioneers, Space Adventures, and the Ansari X PRIZE Title Sponsors to Provide First Suborbital Spaceflight Tourism Vehicles". PR Newswire (Press release). Retrieved 2006-08-27.
- ^ "Iranian Woman Blazes Trail Into Space". Spacedaily.com. Archived from the original on 2006-08-08. Retrieved 2006-08-27.
- ^ "NASA Expedition 14 Overview".
- ^ "Interview with Anousheh Ansari, the First Female Space Tourist". Space.com. 15 September 2006. Archived from the original on 20 September 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-19.
- ^ "Up, Up, and Away!".
- ^ "Full Coverage of Anousheh's journey to space". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
- ^ "Lift-off for woman space tourist". BBC News Online. 2006-09-18. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
- ^ "Space tourist, new crew board ISS". BBC News Online. 2006-09-20. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
- Yahoo. Archived from the originalon 2006-11-09. Retrieved 2006-09-18.
- ^ "Space Station Crew Back on Earth". NASA. 2006-09-28. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-30.
- ^ "Space tourist in Earth touchdown". BBC News Online. 2006-09-29. Archived from the original on 29 September 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-30.
- ^ "American female space tourist returns". The Detroit News. 2006-09-29.
- ^ "Space triumph prompts new line in underwear". icWales, The Western Mail. 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2006-09-30.
- ^ "Expedition 14 Press Kit" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ "IESA experiments with spaceflight participant Ansari to ISS". Archived from the original on 6 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
- ^ Ender, West (2006-08-28). "Iranian flag in Space". Persian Students in the UK Weblog. Archived from the original on 7 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
- ^ Slater, Shelly (2006-09-14). "Local space tourist's Iran patch spurs dispute". WFAA (online). Archived from the original on 2006-10-17. Retrieved 2006-09-17.
- ^ Than, Ker (2006-09-16). "First Female Space Tourist, Next ISS Crew Set to Launch". space.com. Retrieved 2006-09-18.
- Yahoo News.
- ^ "Meet Ax-1, the Beginning of a New Era".
- ^ "Anousheh Ansari – انوشه انصاري". Archived from the original on 2008-06-02. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ "First female space tourist savoring 'every single second' in orbit". AP. 2006-09-22.
- ^ Huffington Post. 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ "NCWIT Symons Innovator Award". NCWIT.org. National Center for Women & Information Technology. May 8, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ "Profiling Eileen Borgeson's Art: Promax Muse, X PRIZE Pin, and Space Tourism's Dennis Tito Awards". MarketWired.com. Nasdaq, Inc. June 18, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ Burton, Dan (June 8, 2010). "A Tribute To The 2010 Ellis Island Medal Of Honor Recipients". capitolwords.org. Sunlight Foundation. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ "Anousheh Ansari Wins the National Space Society's Space Pioneer Award for "Service to the Space Community"". National Space Society Blog. 4 March 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- ^ "2009 Honeywell Leadership Guide" (PDF). spacecamp.com. 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Synopsis". space-tourists-film.com. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
- ^ "First Iranian In Space To Speak At UVU's 72nd Commencement Ceremony". uvu.edu. Utah Valley University. March 11, 2013.
- ^ Samuelson, Kate (February 24, 2017). "Asghar Farhadi Will Be Represented By 2 Iranian-American Space Experts at the Oscars". Time. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ^ Ansari, Anousheh. "Iranian American Women Foundation". Iranian American Women Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
External links
- Official website
- Anousheh Ansari Space Blog Archived 2006-10-04 at the Wayback Machine
- Space Tourists, a documentary film from Christian Frei with Anousheh Ansari
- Anousheh Ansari in SpaceScience.ir (in Persian)
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Interview with Anousheh Ansari
- A 'passion' for space travel BBC/Click Video Interview with Anousheh Ansari
- Spacefacts astronaut bio April 2018