Space Adventures' Orbital Client Will Be Aboard The Station 10 Days

Being in microgravity would probably make all those amazing Cirque du Soleil stunts a LOT easier, but founder Guy Laliberté didn't take an entire troupe with him. He did, however, arrive safely at ISS Friday according to Space Adventures, who organized his expedition. Laliberté launched onboard the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 30 with two other crewmembers.

The spacecraft docked to the ISS at 0436 ET with Mr. Laliberté and Expedition 21 crewmembers Russian cosmonaut Maksim Surayev and NASA astronaut Jeffrey Williams. They were greeted about three hours later by Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Roman Romanenko, Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne, Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk and NASA astronauts Nicole Stott and Michael Barratt.

During his 10-day stay at the ISS, Mr. Laliberté will share information about water-related issues through an artistic and poetic mission, themed "Moving Stars and Earth for Water." The message he transmits from space will raise awareness for the ONE DROP Foundation.

Guy Laliberté

The centerpiece event will take place on October 9th from space and in 14 cities simultaneously around the world, beginning at 2000 ET.

Central to the mission is a poem written by Canadian author Yann Martel. The tale will be delivered piece by piece, one destination at a time. RDI, Le Réseau de l'information of Société Radio-Canada will broadcast the event in Canada along with DIRECTV, on The 101 Network in the United States, and via DIRECTV Latin America on Channels 999 and 1004.  The event will also broadcast live on onedrop.org.

FMI: www.spaceadventures.com