Mark Shuttleworth
Mark Shuttleworth (born 18 September 1973 in Welkom, Free State) is a South African entrepreneur. He also was the first African in space, as well as the second space tourist.
Mark Shuttleworth studied Finance and Information Systems at the University of Cape Town. In 1995 he founded Thawte, specializing in internet security. He sold Thawte in 1999 to VeriSign. Shuttleworth then formed HBD, a venture-capital company, and the Shuttleworth Foundation, which funds educational projects in South Africa.
On 25 April, 2002 Shuttleworth lifted-off aboard the Russian Soyuz TM-34 mission, traveling as space tourist for approximately $20 million US. Two days later the Soyuz spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station, where he spent 8 days, participating in experiments related to AIDS and genome research. On 5 May, he returned to Earth. In order to participate on the flight, Shuttleworth had to undergo one year of training and preparation, including seven months which he spent in Star City, Moscow.
In 2004 he funded the development of Ubuntu Linux, a new open-source GNU/Linux-based operating system, via his company Canonical Ltd.
Mark Shuttleworth currently (2004) lives in London.
See also
- List of astronauts by name
- List of South Africans - Voted 18th in the Top 100 Great South Africans