Lord British in space

Whilst most people who work in the games industry make an average wage, there are some game developer innovators who make such a packet of cash that they're able to do the most astonishing things.

Case in point, Richard Garriott, aka Lord British, and programmer/creator of the massively successful Ultima series, is handing over a whopping £15 million of his fortune to a company called Space Adventures in exchange for a 10-day trip to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Yeah, it may be old news now (it was announced in September last year), but seriously - how cool is that.

From the official website:

Richard's main objective for his mission is to encourage commercial participation. By fostering the involvement of individuals, companies and organizations in his spaceflight Richard hopes to demonstrate that there is commercial potential in private space exploration, while furthering the understanding of space. Richard plans to demonstrate this by taking on various commercial projects, corporate sponsors for his mission activities and by helping companies market their products though their association with an actual space mission.

He won't just be kicking back with an intergalactic gargle blaster though; he's got a several objectives to complete on his mission, including scientific and environmental research. His dad, an astronaut himself, is Richard's chief scientist.

Garriott will be heading to the outer limits later in the autumn.

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Hrmmm... Lord British is quite a fellow... now he heads into space too... AMAZING! I wonder if this has to do with his newest game Tabula Rasa.