The Iranian-born electrical engineer made a fortune at the height of the Internet bubble, selling start-up Telecom Technologies to Sonus Networks for an estimated US$440 million. In May, she joined the growing ranks of IT luminaries jumping into the space race, lending her name and undisclosed financial backing to the $10 million contest now known as the Ansari X Prize challenge.
The contest made history this week, when Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's SpaceShipOne craft sped 100km above Earth's surface and then landed safely in the Mojave desert for the second time in less than a week -- a feat some believe could help spawn a commercial spaceflight industry.
"After we sold the company, Anousheh and I shared a passion to get involved in space activity," said brother-in-law and Telecom Technologies co-founder Amir Ansari. "But for the longest time it seemed like a wish list you wanted to do but couldn't take seriously."
What is it with deep-pocket geeks and space?
Whether you blame the Apollo moon landings, Isaac Asimov, "Star Trek" or the sheer giddiness of all that instant money, it's clear that wealthy tech celebrities have the space bug. The list of IT veterans turned space junkies includes Allen, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, PayPal founder Elon Musk and Id Software's John Carmack, to name a few.
The bridge from technology entrepreneur to space voyager seems natural. Many tech players have publicly pined for the day when space travel will become affordable for average folks.
"I think there's a strong natural affinity for tech entrepreneurs to space," said Musk, who's backing a venture called SpaceX. "A lot of people read science fiction when they were kids. They might not have gone to Trekkie conventions, but they sure watched the series."
Others cite NASA's early space efforts in the 1960s as a major inspiration. After SpaceShipOne landed successfully for the first time last week, a radiant Allen entered a packed press room wearing a Seattle Seahawk's cap, the NFL team that he owns, and a boyish grin.
"As a kid I followed the golden age of the space program," Allen mused. "In grade school they'd wheel in a TV on this big stand, and we'd sit there in class watching the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo launches."
Some ventures, such as Bezos' Blue Origin are shrouded in secrecy. Bezos has rarely spoken publicly about his ambitions, but he fielded a question on the subject Tuesday at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco.
Although he would not talk about the topic at length, he said that like others with means and passions such as art collecting, his passion is for space travel. And when asked if he would travel in space, he said: "Yes, I plan to get up there."
Some details about Blue Origin appear on the company's Web site.
"Blue Origin is developing vehicles and technologies that, over time, will help enable an enduring human presence in space," the site reads. "We are currently working to develop a crewed, suborbital launch system that emphasises safety and low cost of operations."
An Amazon spokeswoman confirmed Bezos is spending an undisclosed amount of his personal wealth on the company, but declined to elaborate on its objectives.
Others are more candid.
Jim Benson, a computer industry veteran who sold his software business Compusearch in 1995, created a company called SpaceDev that, among other things, produced SpaceShipOne's rocket motor using a propulsion system based on rubber and laughing gas.
Musk's SpaceX plans to fund its research into interplanetary exploration by creating rockets that haul payload, such as satellites, into orbit. Carmack's Armadillo Aerospace, meanwhile, was one team that vied for the Ansari X Prize, but could not get its project together in time to beat out Allen.
How to pay the bills
Space flight is expensive, so figuring out a way to pay for research and eventually liftoff requires business savvy. Lining up financing can become complicated by the number of ideas being floated around that intentionally push the envelope, spooking potential investors.
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