MORE MONEY THAN SENSE

"An Australian entrepreneur and self-described "thrillionaire" has signed on as the backup space tourist for the next paid flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The Virginia-based firm Space Adventures officially named financial strategist Nik Halik as the backup crewmate to American space tourist Richard Garriott, who is training for a planned October launch to the ISS aboard a Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft. Halik, 38, is paying $3 million to train alongside Garriott as a backup spaceflyer. ...Garriott, a computer game developer, is the son of former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott and will be the first second-generation U.S. spaceflyer when he launches later this year. He is paying about $30 million for the experience." (Yahoo News, 28 January) RD