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US space tourist Richard Garriott gives a thumbs-up after donning his space suit at Baikonur cosmodrome October 12, 2008. [Agencies]
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US video game magnate Richard Garriott headed into space aboard a Russian rocket yesterday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War.
The Russian Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft lifted off in clear weather from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the Kazakh steppes just after 1:00 pm local time.
A video game developer from Texas, Garriott paid $35 million to fly into space alongside US astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov.
Garriott's father, Owen, watched the blast off through binoculars on an observation platform and Garriott's girlfriend, Kelly Miller, burst into tears. "I am very happy for him. It is one of the things he really wanted to do," Miller said as others opened champagne to celebrate the successful launch.
"I can see he is really enjoying it like a little kid in the candy shop," Miller said.
Space officials said the Soyuz rocket had reached orbit safely and would dock with the International Space Station (ISS) in about two days.
"He made it, he made it into orbit. It is marvellous," said Owen Garriott, a physicist who was selected as an astronaut by NASA for his scientific background. He spent 60 days in space in 1973 and another ten days in 1983.
After 10 days in space Garriott will return to Earth with the ISS's former crew aboard a Soyuz re-entry vehicle, a three-person capsule which has malfunctioned on its last two flights.
In April, a Soyuz capsule landed 420 km off course after explosive bolts failed to detonate before re-entry, sending the craft into a steep descent.
Last year, a Soyuz capsule carrying Malaysia's first astronaut also made a so-called "ballistic" landing, similarly blamed on faulty bolts.
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(Agencies)
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美国电脑游大亨理查德•加里奥特于昨日搭乘一架俄罗斯载人飞船，在父亲的目送下飞赴太空。他的父亲曾是美国宇航局的一名宇航员，曾在“冷战”时期登上太空。
俄罗斯“联盟号TMA-13”载人飞船于当地时间下午1时零几分从位于哈萨克斯坦大草原的拜科努尔发射场发射升空。
同行的还有美国宇航员迈克尔•芬克以及俄罗斯宇航员尤里•隆恰科夫。来自得克萨斯州、从事电脑游戏开发的加里奥特为此次太空游共花费3500万美元。
加里奥特的父亲欧文在一个观测台上通过一架双眼望远镜观看了整个发射过程，加里奥特的女友凯莉•米勒则喜极而泣。她说：“我真的为他高兴。这是他的一个梦想。”现场的其他人则开启香槟庆祝飞船发射成功。
米勒说：“我可以感觉到他很开心，就像一个孩子在糖果店里一样。”
据指挥中心官员介绍，目前飞船已经安全到达轨道，并将在大约两天后与国际空间站对接。
加里奥特的父亲欧文·加里奥特说：“他终于实现了自己的梦想，很了不起。”欧文曾是一名物理学家，后来凭借该背景被美国宇航局选为航天员。他曾于1973年在太空逗留60天，又于1983年在太空待了10天。
加里奥特将于10天后与同行的两位前国际空间站工作人员搭乘“联盟号”飞船的返回舱返回地球。“联盟号”返回舱可搭载三人，曾在前两次飞行中出现故障。
今年4月，“联盟号”飞船返回舱在进入地球大气层之前因爆炸螺栓未能引爆，最后在偏离预定着陆点420公里的地方惊险着陆。
去年，搭载马拉西亚首位宇航员的“联盟号”返回舱也因螺栓问题来了个“弹道式”着陆。
（英语点津姗姗编辑）
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