Apparently, a zero-G flight isn't enough for Richard Garriott. The well-known game developer has just shelled out about US$ 30 million to become the sixth paying visitor to the International Space Station. Read more in the full article.

Korean-based game company NCsoft has announced that they will not be sponsoring Richard Garriott's flight to the International Space Station next year. The announcement followed the news that Garriott, creator of Tabula Rasa and Ultima Online, has already started preparations to make the space trip.

Kim Ju-young, a spokesperson for NCsoft explains: "It is a personal affair [of Garriott]. We decided not to participate in the program." The decision may be the result of some internal problems in NCsoft, caused by some conflict between CEO Kim Taek-Kin and the employees.

The hefty price to create Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa (it cost the company about US$ 18.5 million) and the long delays (around six years), caused NCsoft employees to lose trust in Garriott and are troubled since Kim continues to support Garriott. The decision not to fund the space trip may be a move to mitigate the issue.

Garriott may end up having to fund his own trip to outer space next year. If he does decide to do so he may have to dish out something within the region of US$ 30 million.

Looks like Lord British's flight to outer space is a go. Richard Garriott, executive producer of, well, Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, has officially started preparations to make the trip to the International Space Station (ISS) a year from now. Garriott will be among one of the first batch from the private sector to board the ISS.

Garriott's father, Owen Garriott, a former NASA astronaut, will also be heading for the ISS for research on biotechnology. Richard Garriott himself says of his trip to space:

I am dedicating my spaceflight to science. It is my goal to devote a significant amount of my time aboard the space station to science, engineering and educational projects. I understand the necessity for conducting research in extreme environments whether it is collecting microorganisms from deep sea hydrothermal vents to carrying out experiments in the continuous micro-gravity of Earth orbit. We need to be adventurous in mind and stimulate our intellects to answer today’s most daunting scientific questions and to invent tomorrow’s technological marvels.

Garriott will go to space (it's a little weird to say it so casually) via Space Adventures, the private space travel company. If you have a couple of millions in your pocket maybe you can make the trip yourself and join Tabula Rasa's creator. If not, join us as we sit and wait for the game's release.

Now that making a leisure trip to space is possible, even Korean MMORPG giant NCsoft plans to send someone beyond the atmosphere. Spokesman Kim Ju-young is not certain whether it's for the company's social contribution program or to promote Tabula Rasa, but the idea of sending Richard Garriott (known as Lord British to fans of his games) to space sounds solid.

This October, NCsoft will confirm if Lord British will take the Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2008 to drop by the International Space Station and spend a full week there. Space Adventures, the private space travel company, has reserved a seat on the fall 2008 trip for Garriott.

Being the son of Spacelab astronaut Owen Garriott and after working with Space Adventures, it doesn't come as a surprise that Lord British is fond of space travel. According to NCsoft, he decided to take the trip. NCsoft CEO Kim Taek-jin may do the same in 2009, but there are no official confirmations as of now.

Ko San, currently in training to become Korea's first astronaut, already has US$ 30 million on his bill before even before reaching space. However, NCsoft is capable of dishing out the money, especially after spending billions of Korean won to develop Tabula Rasa. Being a prominent figure in the online gaming scene, Lord British could very well make the promotional trip pay off in spades.