(Adapted from materials found on her personal and corporate web sites)
Anousheh Ansari is an absolutely amazing young woman. A living example of the American dream, Anousheh Ansari immigrated to the United States as a 14 year old teenager who did not speak English. She immersed herself in education, earning a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering from George Mason University, followed by a master's degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University. She is currently working toward a master's degree in astronomy from Swinburne University in Australia.
She made her fortune in the telecommunications industry. Prior to founding Prodea Systems, which is headquartered right here in North Texas by the way, Anousheh served as co-founder, chief executive officer and chairman of the board for telecom technologies, inc. After earning three key U.S. patents, and growing the company to 250 employees with 100% sequential growth year over year since inception, the company successfully merged with Sonus Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONS), a provider of IP-based voice infrastructure products.
Her new company, Prodea Systems, is involved in creating the Explorer rocketplane and a spaceport in the UAE.
Now Anousheh is capturing headlines around the world as the first female private space explorer. On Sept. 18, she will blast off for an 8 day expedition aboard the International Space Station. She will be a member of the primary crew of the Soyuz TMA-9, which will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Her fellow crew members will include NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin.
Anousheh will be the fourth private space explorer to visit space, and the first astronaut of Iranian descent. She spent over 6 months preparing for the journey at the Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Centre in Star City, Russia and the Johnson Space Center in Houston/TX, USA.
An active proponent of world-changing technologies, Anousheh has dreamed of space exploration since childhood. Her family provided the title sponsorship for the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million cash award for the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. This feat was accomplished in 2004 by legendary aerospace designer Burt Rutan in 2004.
I'm really in awe of her accomplishments. Engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and space activist, she's the epitome of "the Right Stuff" - and let's be honest, she's quite attractive! I wish her Godspeed.
Here are some places you can follow Anousheh's adventure online:
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