Briton buys a ride to space

A London internet millionaire lived his dream today when he blasted off into space aboard a Russian rocket.

Mark Shuttleworth, a 28-year-old web tycoon and self-confessed nerd, paid £15 million to realise his childhood ambition. The 160-foot Soyuz TM-34 rocket lifted off in near perfect conditions in Kazakhstan at 7.26am London time.

Watching anxiously as he took off, the mother of the first British space tourist said: "He may be an astronaut, but he is still my boy and I still get pangs about what could happen."

Mrs Ronelle Shuttleworth, who travelled to Russia for the launch with other members of the family, revealed that her son's fascination with space travel started when he was a young boy. "Mark was in primary school when he first cast his eyes heavenward and said, 'I'd love to go up in space one day.'

"He was passionate about space, space travel and the planets."

Members of the family had to undergo medical checks before being allowed to visit Mark Shuttleworth in quarantine to wish him good luck for the launch.

Before the final countdown Mr Shuttleworth, 28, said: "I'm as ready as I'll ever be and feeling surprisingly calm. This is a realisation of a personal dream. Everyone has a romantic dream about something. Mine is to fly into space."

He is only the second space tourist. Last year American tycoon Dennis Tito became the first.

On their 10-day mission Mr Shuttleworth, Italian Air Force pilot Roberto Vittori and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko will drop off a replacement lifeboat rocket at the space station.

Mr Shuttleworth is determined not to be dismissed as just a wealthy man fulfilling a fantasy. He points out he will be carrying out research experiments on the HIV virus, a matter of huge concern in South Africa, where he was born, where 4.7 million people suffer from Aids. He will also undertake the very first experiments in the world to assess the impact of zerogravity on the development of stem cells and embryos.

He said: "This isn't a tourism gig. For me, this is the first privately-funded space programme."

Mr Shuttleworth has been in training for eight months. He had to learn Russian and undergo courses in science and spacecraft communications.

"Physically, some of the most challenging stuff was the survival training," he said. "The Soyuz is a compact capsule designed to land in the desert. But it also contains survival equipment and procedures in case we should land in the ocean or in the Arctic climate, and we have had to train for all these eventualities."

If this flight is successful, Mr Shuttleworth hopes that one day he could take a flight to Mars.

"Mars is still waiting." he said. "It's just a question of the will to do it. We could overcome the technical barriers in 15 years if we set our minds to it."

His dedication to his training has earned him the respect of Gidzenko, his commander on the spacecraft.

"When he arrived at Star City, he did not have a clear idea what a space flight is all about," he said. "Now he is sufficiently prepared to work on the craft and carry out his scientific programme." Considered one of the world's wealthiest and most eligible bachelors, he was born and raised in South Africa, the son of Rick, a Sevenoaks-born surgeon.

He made his fortune after setting up and selling his own web security business in his parents' garage in Cape Town.

In 1995, during his final year at the University of Cape Town, Mark founded Thawte Consulting, the first firm to produce a secure ecommerce web server commercially outside America. Five years later, he sold it for $575 million.

He often talked to his family about what he should do with the money, the conversation would inevitably return to his longing to travel into space.

His father Rick said: "After Dennis Tito's journey into space in April last year Mark said it gave him hope. He went to Russia, supposedly for a business deal, but then the call came through that the Russians were willing to discuss his going up in space."

Ronelle added: "He sees the world as one place. You can't pin him down - not in one country nor in one universe."