Photos: Microsoft veteran blasts into orbit

Saturday's launch of a Russian rocket will mark the fifth time a tourist has flown into space. This time around, the high-flying passenger will be Charles Simonyi, who became a billionaire in part because of his leading role in developing Word and Excel for Microsoft. It helps to be rich if you want to hitch a ride into orbit — Simonyi reportedly paid $25m for the 11-day trip, organised by the company Space Adventures. In this picture, he's at left, accompanied by Russian crew members Oleg Kotov (centre) and Fyodor Yurchikhin (right), all of them in Sokol-KV spacesuits.

Photo credit: SP Korolev RSC Energia