NEW YORK--Google co-founder Sergey Brin has put down a $5 million deposit to book a flight into space with the space tourism company Space Adventures.
Sergey Brin, Google co-founder
(Credit: Google)The company announced Wednesday that Brin will be the founding member of its Orbital Mission Explorers Circle, a group of six individuals who will each make a $5 million down payment to book a seat on a future orbital space flight.
Google and its co-founder Brin have long support space exploration. The company has sponsored the Google Lunar X Prize, a $25 million competition to land an unmanned craft on the moon.
"I am a big believer in the exploration and commercial development of the space frontier and am looking forward to the possibility of going into space," Brin said in a statement.
Space Adventures' new club was formed to help kick-start a new effort by the company to fund its own rockets and missions to the International Space Station. Previously, Space Adventures, which has been around for 10 years, has bought seats aboard already scheduled Russian missions to the International Space Station for its clients. Now it will build its own rocket for its own missions. The inaugural flight with its own Russian-built Soyuz rocket is scheduled for 2011, Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures, said at a press conference here Wednesday.
The company plans to launch one mission to the International Space Station per year after 2011. Eventually it hopes to allow its wealthy clients to take space walks while in orbit or even go to the moon.
Google's Brin, who has not announced when he plans to take his trip into space, could wait to schedule his trip when those options are available.
"It's entirely up to him," said Anderson. "When he chooses a date is when he will go. It could be in three years or it could be in five."
Even if Brin isn't on Space Adventures' first privately funded flight, it's likely that at least one of the two seats available will go to a yet-unnamed member of its Orbital Mission Explorers Circle.
The $5 million deposit made by the group's members will be credited to the cost of a future space flight and help fund the program. The exact cost of each trip will vary depending on when the flight is taken and the duration of the mission, Anderson said.
Space Adventures has already sent five individuals into space with trips costing between $20 million and $40 million. Anderson said future trips aboard its own Soyuz rocket are expected to cost more.
Richard Garriott talks about his scheduled flight into space at the Space Adventures press conference.
(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET Networks)Space Adventures has seats reserved for flights to the space station this October and April 2009. Richard Garriott, a well known computer game developer, will be on the October trip. Garriott paid $35 million for his seat.
Garriott's father Owen Garriott was a NASA astronaut, who spent 60 days aboard Skylab in 1973 and 10 days aboard Spacelab-1 in 1983. And Richard Garriott will be the first second generation astronaut to make it into space. Garriott has been training for his trip at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia since earlier this year and he has been keeping a blog of efforts here.
Update 3:10 p.m. PT: I added more quotations from the Google executives
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Google's top executives on Thursday gave a glimpse into how it might try to deflect antitrust concerns of a possible ad-sharing deal with rival Yahoo, advising observers to look at the overall ad market.
"You are narrowly focused on search advertising," co-founder Sergey Brin told reporters at the company's headquarters here before Google's shareholder meeting. "Advertising as a whole is much broader, and Internet advertising is much broader."
The observation has bearing on the issue of whether Google has a monopoly and whether a deal with a rival would therefore reduce competition.
"Advertisers always have multiple choices. It makes sense (for advertisers) to always use more than one," Chief Executive Eric Schmidt added. "It's incorrect to assert there's lock-in or opportunity for dominance in the ad space. Don't map (computer) platform economics to ad economics."
Schmidt wouldn't comment on whether a deal was imminent, but one source familiar with the situation expects an announcement next week.
Co-founder Larry Page also specifically said Yahoo is "strong" in the display ad market. Google's cash comes chiefly from text ads in the form of AdWords, which appear alongside search results, and AdSense, which appear on partners' Web pages; its acquisition of DoubleClick, though, is designed to improve its display-ad business.
When Yahoo and Google announced a two-week test under which Yahoo showed a limited number of Google text ads alongside search results, Microsoft raised antitrust concerns. The partnership also was a major factor in Microsoft's displeasure with Yahoo acquisition talks.
Yahoo-Google ad test a success
The two-week test with Yahoo went well, Brin said.
"We had a really good dynamic. We were able to implement it quickly. The technology teams got along well. They were able to get the protocols working very easily and able to gain a lot of insights," Brin said.
Page also discussed another issue that could come up in antitrust scrutiny, whether customers--in this case advertisers--benefit or are harmed by the partnership. During the test, Page said advertisers contacted him when they saw their ads showing up on Yahoo's search results.
"They were really excited about that," Page said. He added. "AdWords is an auction. We're not setting prices. Auctions are determined by supply and demand. Having more inventory avail to advertisers is really positive for them."
Criticizing Microsoft
Many have noted the irony that Microsoft is raising antitrust concerns. The famously aggressive company was largely unscathed by a years-long antitrust case involving whether it leveraged an operating system monopoly to dominate the Web browser market.
Page struck back at Microsoft's antitrust criticisms, pointing specifically to the company's MSN Internet portal.
"A lot of the traffic to MSN has come through bundling the operating system and the browser," Page said. Bundling is one of those hot-button words in antitrust
"When Microsoft pounced after Yahoo's earnings (report) with their letter, we issued blog post," Schmidt added. "Given Microsoft's history and the extreme market share that would result in some end-user-facing parts of the Internet, we were concerned. We were opposed to (Microsoft's attempt to acquire Yahoo) on that basis."
A helping hand for Yahoo
So perhaps it's not surprising also that Google wanted to help Yahoo withstand Microsoft's acquisition attempt.
"We really believe in companies having choices about their destiny. Certainly a (Silicon) valley company like Yahoo--we want to support their ability to have choice," Brin said. "They were under hostile attack and we want to make sure they have as many options as possible."
Schmidt sees Microsoft as a formidable competitor. "Microsoft is well funded, they're clever they're smart, and they have a number of advantages nobody else does," he said.
Watch out Bill!
Google co-founder Sergey Brin is worth $18.5 billion.
(Credit: Google)
Google co-founder Larry Page is worth $18.5 billion.
(Credit: Google)Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, each worth an estimated $18.5 billion, have joined the ranks of the top 10 richest people in the U.S., according to Forbes magazine's list of the 400 most wealthy Americans.
The 34-year-olds are tied for fifth place, behind Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is worth $59 million; investment mogul Warren Buffett at $52 billion; casino and hotel magnate Sheldon Adelson at $28 billion; and Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison at $26 billion.
Google investing in a start-up? Not that surprising. But this start-up isn't exactly aimed at the search business.
The Internet giant has pumped $3.9 million into biotech researcher 23andMe, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The start-up focuses on ways to help people understand their genetic blueprint.
The link between search and genetics isn't immediately obvious. But a closer look reveals more: 23andMe was co-founded by Anne Wojcicki, who married Google co-founder Sergey Brin last month.
While a Google spokesman said Brin had recused himself from all discussions regarding the investment, bloggers were still wondering why the investment in the genome company came from Google's public holdings, and not Brin's considerable personal fortune.
Blog community response:
"Is this another example of new billionaire hubris following the whole private plane debacle last year, or yet another savvy start-up investment by Google? By the way, does anyone find it deliciously ironic that 23andMe's slogan is 'Genetics is About to Get Personal'?"
--Mark Evans
"So what's the connection with Google? No idea, yet, but these companies are now firmly in bed with each other (pun intended)."
--TechCrunch
"Still, this move by Google will do little to quiet those who think the company is too arrogant. After all, most husbands give their new bride a nice shiny ring as a wedding present, not money from the public company that they just so happen to own a controlling stake in."
--Media Biz
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