MPs in the National Assembly on Tuesday warmly applauded the achievements of South Africa and Africa’s first space tourist Mark Shuttleworth.
In a notice of motion, the chairman of committees Geoff Doidge (ANC) said the 28-year-old internet billionaire was an inspiration to all South Africans.
His journey to the international space station would help inspire school children to higher performance in maths and science.
Doidge said the trip was an outstanding achievement and the culmination of a life-long dream.
Shuttleworth and his fellow cosmonauts, Russian flight commander Yury Gidzenko and Italian engineer Roberto Vittori, landed back on Earth on Sunday.
The South African paid the Russians $20-million for the 10-day space trip, which he began on April 25.
Meanwhile, Shuttleworth said on Tuesday he
won’t be going home with the ultimate in souvenirs – the Russian Soyuz capsule that brought him back to earth – but he does plan to buy the spacesuit he wore during his stint on the International Space Station.
Shuttleworth was still glowing with enthusiasm when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday at the cosmonaut training centre at Star City, Russia.
”Several times over, it was worth the investment,” he said, adding that he hoped his flight would ”inspire future generations to pursue science and mathematics.”
Shuttleworth said he expressed interest in buying the three-ton Soyuz capsule, which protected him during the fiery descent to earth, but he wasn’t able to reach agreement with the Russian space agency. He said he hoped to have a mock-up of the vehicle built, which he could take to South African schools to educate children.
Sergei Gorbunov, a representative for the Russian space agency, said the Soyuz is considered ”space technology,” and the legal procedures for exporting it would be prohibitively long and difficult. But he did say Shuttleworth would likely be able to take
his bulky spacesuit home ”to hang in his closet”.
Shuttleworth said he conducted ”a raft of experiments” in orbit.
He said two sheep embryos and several mice embryos had survived the space flight and would now be thoroughly tested and examined by scientists.
He had words of praise for his two crew mates and the staff of Russian mission control. Commander Gidzenko ”did the work of three men” during the flight, acting quickly to solve all problems, Shuttleworth said.
”For a complete rookie, it was good to have his experienced hands, Shuttleworth said.
The South African said he planned to take a vacation with members of his family, who came to Russia and Kazakhstan to watch his liftoff and landing. – Sapa-AP, AFP