View source for Anousheh Ansari

{{Short description|Iranian-American engineer and space tourist (born 1966)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Anousheh Ansari
| image              = AnoushehAnsari.jpg
| caption            = Ansari in 2005
| birth_name         = Anousheh Raissyan
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1966|9|12}}
| birth_place        = [[Mashhad]], Iran
| occupation         = {{hlist|Businesswoman|engineer}}
| title              = CEO of [[Xprize Foundation|XPRIZE Foundation]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.xprize.org/about/people/anousheh-ansari |title=X Prize-Our People, Anousheh Ansari, CEO|access-date=March 11, 2019}}</ref>
| citizenship        = United States
| alma_mater         = [[George Mason University]] (BSc)<br />[[George Washington University]] (MSc)
| spouse             = {{marriage|Hamid Ansari|1991}}
| relatives          = {{unbulletedlist
| [[Yara Shahidi]] (niece)
| [[Sayeed Shahidi]] (nephew)
| [[Amir Ansari]] (brother-in-law)}}
| module             = {{Infobox astronaut
| child      = yes
| name       = Anousheh Ansari
| type       = [[Spaceflight participant]]
| status     = Retired
| occupation =
| selection  = 
| time       = 10d 21h 5m
| mission    = [[Soyuz TMA-9]]/[[Soyuz TMA-8|8]]
| insignia   =  
| awards     = 
}}
}}

'''Anousheh Ansari''' ({{langx|fa|انوشه انصاری }}; {{Nee|'''Raissyan'''}};<ref name="U.S.: Iranian-born To Be First Female Civilian In Space">{{cite news | url= http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1071358.html | title= U.S.: Iranian-American To Be First Female Civilian In Space | publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|RFE/RL]] | date=2006-09-15 | access-date=2011-02-12| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110120193727/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1071358.html| archive-date= 20 January 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> born September 12, 1966) is an Iranian-American engineer, [[Space tourism|space tourist]], and entrepreneur. She is the co-founder and chairwoman of Prodea Systems, and her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and chief executive officer of Telecom Technologies, Inc. On September 18, 2006, a few days after her 40th birthday, she became the first Iranian person to be in [[outer space]].<ref name= cheers /> Ansari was the fourth overall self-funded space tourist and the first self-funded woman to fly to the [[International Space Station]]. Her memoir ''My Dream of Stars'', co-written with American engineer [[Homer Hickam]], was published by [[Palgrave Macmillan]] in 2010.<ref name=macmillan-book-profile>{{cite web| url= http://us.macmillan.com/mydreamofstars/anoushehansari/9780230105799| title= My Dream of Stars: From Daughter of Iran to Space Pioneer | website= macmillan.com| publisher= Macmillan Publishers | access-date= March 21, 2017}}</ref> 

She is also the chief executive officer of the [[Xprize Foundation|XPRIZE Foundation]], and the Ansari family is the title sponsor of the [[Ansari X Prize]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Board|url=https://www.xprize.org/about/people/our-board |publisher=X Prize Foundation}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Born Anousheh Raissyan in [[Mashhad]], [[Imperial State of Iran|Iran]], she and her parents moved to [[Tehran]] shortly afterward.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ece.gmu.edu/alumni_news.htm |title=Alumni news |publisher=[[George Mason University]] |date=2001 |access-date=2006-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901092159/http://ece.gmu.edu/alumni_news.htm |archive-date=2006-09-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> When Ansari was six years old, her parents divorced.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Nicola |date=2019-07-29 |title=Anousheh Ansari: From Space Tourist to Entrepreneur – Hayat Life |url=https://hayatlife.com/2019/07/29/anousheh-ansari-space-tourist/,%20https://hayatlife.com/2019/07/29/anousheh-ansari-space-tourist/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |language=en-CA}}</ref> Ansari has a sister, Atousa Raissyan, who is five years younger.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maher |first=Heather |title=Reaching Out To The Stars |language=en |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1071358.html#:~:text=A%20Childhood%20Passion,and%20works%20at%20Prodea%20Systems. |access-date=2023-09-06}}</ref> At the age of six, Ansari would visit her grandparents and sleep overnight on the balcony, as there was no air conditioning. Ansari would gaze at the night sky and was very curious about space.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dare to Dream Bigger – Defying Limits with The First Iranian Woman in Space {{!}} Anousheh Ansari |url=https://findingmastery.com/podcasts/anousheh-ansari/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=Finding Mastery |language=en-US}}</ref> In Tehran, at the age of seven, Ansari attended a French Catholic school called [[Jeanne d'Arc School, Tehran|Jeanne d’Arc]]. Half of the day was taught in Farsi while the other half was taught in French.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Life |first=Kayhan |date=2017-10-01 |title=My Trip into Space: An Interview with Anousheh Ansari |url=https://kayhanlife.com/trip-space-interview-anousheh-ansari/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=KAYHAN LIFE |language=en-US |archive-date=2018-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219160928/https://kayhanlife.com/trip-space-interview-anousheh-ansari/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> She witnessed the [[Iranian Revolution]] in 1979 and recalls memories of "hearing gun shots, screaming, people being killed, and explosions". From then on until the [[Iran–Iraq War]], Ansari would have to take shelter in the basement of her apartment building, where she was the eldest of the children taking shelter. She would narrate stories to them, offering them comfort, which distracted them from the noise of bombs being dropped outside.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dare to Dream Bigger – Defying Limits with The First Iranian Woman in Space {{!}} Anousheh Ansari |url=https://findingmastery.com/podcasts/anousheh-ansari/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=Finding Mastery |language=en-US}}</ref> Ansari immigrated to the [[United States]] in 1984 as a teenager,<ref name="Female space tourist blasts off">{{cite news | url= http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/18/space.female.tourist/index.html| title= Female space tourist blasts off | publisher=[[CNN]] | date=2006-09-18 | access-date=2006-09-18| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060920022040/http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/09/18/space.female.tourist/index.html| archive-date= 20 September 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> and attended a high school in [[Northern Virginia]], Lake Braddock.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dare to Dream Bigger – Defying Limits with The First Iranian Woman in Space {{!}} Anousheh Ansari |url=https://findingmastery.com/podcasts/anousheh-ansari/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=Finding Mastery |language=en-US}}</ref> Apart from her native [[Persian language|Persian]], she is fluent in [[English language|English]] and [[French language|French]] and acquired a working knowledge of [[Russian language|Russian]] for her spaceflight experience.<ref>{{cite news| first= Warren E. | last= Leary| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/science/space/12tourist.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin |title= She Dreamed of the Stars; Now She'll Almost Touch Them| work= The New York Times| date= September 12, 2006}}</ref>

She received her [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in electrical engineering and computer science at [[George Mason University]] in Fairfax, Virginia, and her master's degree at [[George Washington University]] in Washington D.C.<ref name= cheers>{{cite news |title= Pride in space as Iran cheers first Muslim's journey to the stars|first= Andrew |last= Buncombe |date=2006-09-18}}</ref><ref name="Never an Option">{{cite web|url=http://www.gmu.edu/alumni/spirit/00fall/ansari.html |title=Failure Was Never an Option for Mason Alumna |work=George Mason University alumni newsletter |first=Emily |last=Yaghmour |access-date=2006-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060525030252/http://www.gmu.edu/alumni/spirit/00fall/ansari.html |archive-date=2006-05-25 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| first= Gina| last= Sunseri| url= https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2455201&page=1 |title= First Female Space Tourist Takes Off| publisher= ABC News| website= abcnews.go.com| date= September 18, 2006}}</ref>

== Career ==
After graduation, Raissyan began work at [[MCI Inc.|MCI]], where she met her future husband, Hamid Ansari. They married in 1991.<ref name= poised>{{cite news |title= First female space tourist poised for launch | publisher=CNN .com | date=2006-09-15 }}</ref>

In 1993, she persuaded her husband and her brother-in-law, Amir Ansari, to co-found Telecom Technologies Inc., using their savings and corporate retirement accounts, as deregulation happened in the US telecommunications industry.{{cn|date=August 2024}} The company was a supplier of [[softswitch]] technology that enabled [[Telecommunication|telecom]] "service providers to enhance system performance, lower operating costs and furnish new revenue opportunities." The company, headquartered in Richardson, Texas, offered products that allowed the integration between existing telecom networks and application-centric, next-generation networks via [[Call control|software switch technology]].<ref name=sn20010116>{{cite web |title=Telecom Technologies Wins 2nd Straight Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award |url=http://www.sonusnet.com/content/press-details/TELECOM-TECHNOLOGIES-WINS-2ND-STRAIGHT-COMMUNICATIONS-SOLUTIONS-PRODUCT-OF-YEAR-AWARD/235.aspx |work=press release |publisher=Sonus Networks |access-date=2011-03-29 |date=2001-01-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015032053/http://sonusnet.com/content/press-details/TELECOM-TECHNOLOGIES-WINS-2ND-STRAIGHT-COMMUNICATIONS-SOLUTIONS-PRODUCT-OF-YEAR-AWARD/235.aspx |archive-date=2010-10-15 }}</ref> Telecom Technologies was acquired by Sonus Networks, Inc. in 2001 in a stock-for-stock transaction for 10.8 million shares of Sonus stock. Anousheh Ansari became "a vice president of Sonus and general manager of Sonus' new INtelligentIP division."<ref name=sn20010118>{{cite web |title=Sonus Networks Completes Acquisition of Telecom Technologies |url=http://www.sonusnet.com/content/press-details/SONUS-NETWORKS-COMPLETES-ACQUISITION-OF-TELECOM-TECHNOLOGIES/233.aspx |work=press release |publisher=Sonus Networks |access-date=2011-03-29 |date=2001-01-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221013035/http://sonusnet.com/content/press-details/SONUS-NETWORKS-COMPLETES-ACQUISITION-OF-TELECOM-TECHNOLOGIES/233.aspx |archive-date=2010-12-21 }}</ref>
* <!-- for $550 million in stock.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}} -->

In 2006, she co-founded Prodea Systems, becoming its chairwoman and CEO.<ref name="ps20110329mt">{{cite web|title=Prodea Systems: Management Team |url=http://www.prodeasystems.com/what-is-prodea/management-team/ |work=prodeasystems.com |publisher=Prodea Systems |access-date=2011-03-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303033346/http://www.prodeasystems.com/what-is-prodea/management-team/ |archive-date=2011-03-03 }}</ref> Prodea is a technology and services management company. Prodea is a privately held company formed by the Ansari family with development centers in Richardson, Texas, and Silicon Valley.

== Space ==
Ansari has expressed that she does not consider herself a "space tourist" and prefers the title of "[[spaceflight participant]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMD58BE8YE_index_0.html|title=Space for Business Newsletter article from February 2007: "I am NOT a tourist"}} February 2007</ref>

Ansari is a member of the [[X PRIZE Foundation]]'s Vision Circle, as well as its Board of Trustees.<ref name="X Prize Foundation Board">{{cite web | title= Board of Trustees | url= http://www.xprizefoundation.com/about_us/board.asp | publisher= [[X PRIZE Foundation]] | access-date=2006-09-11| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060910180940/http://www.xprizefoundation.com/about_us/board.asp| archive-date= 10 September 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> Along with her brother-in-law, [[Amir Ansari]], she made a multimillion-dollar contribution to the X PRIZE foundation on May 5, 2004, the 43rd anniversary of [[Alan Shepard]]'s sub-orbital spaceflight. The X PRIZE has officially renamed the ''Ansari X PRIZE'' to honor their donation. As demonstrated by her commitment to the X PRIZE and through presentations at Space Enthusiast conferences, Ansari is a spokesperson for the "privatization of space," a process enabling commercially viable companies to government-independently send equipment and people into space for exploration and other purposes.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Saab|first=Bechara|title=Planet Earth, Space Debris|journal=Hypothesis|date=September 2009|volume=7|issue=1|pages=e1|s2cid=128979357|url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e729/60005481fad77656e182e4fee9425bb8aef6.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227214505/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e729/60005481fad77656e182e4fee9425bb8aef6.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-02-27}}</ref>

The Ansari family also invested in a partnership with [[Space Adventures|Space Adventures, Ltd.]] and the [[Russian Federal Space Agency|Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation]] (FSA) to create a fleet of suborbital spaceflight vehicles (the [[Space Adventures Explorer]]) for global commercial use.<ref name="Space Tourism Pioneers, Space Adventures and the [[Ansari X PRIZE]] Title Sponsors, to Provide First Suborbital Spaceflight Tourism Vehicles">{{cite press release|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-16-2006/0004283899&EDATE=|title=Space Tourism Pioneers, Space Adventures, and the Ansari X PRIZE Title Sponsors to Provide First Suborbital Spaceflight Tourism Vehicles |work=[[PR Newswire]]|access-date=2006-08-27}}</ref>

=== Spaceflight ===

Ansari trained as a backup for [[Daisuke Enomoto]] for a [[Soyuz spacecraft|Soyuz]] flight to the International Space Station, through Space Adventures, Ltd.<ref name="Iranian Woman Blazes Trail Into Space">{{cite web |url=http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Iranian_Woman_Blazes_Trail_Into_Space_999.html |title=Iranian Woman Blazes Trail Into Space |work=[[Spacedaily.com]] |access-date=2006-08-27 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20060808063618/http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Iranian_Woman_Blazes_Trail_Into_Space_999.html |archive-date=2006-08-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On August 21, 2006, Enomoto was medically disqualified from flying the [[Soyuz TMA-9]] mission that was due to launch the following month. The next day Ansari was elevated to the prime crew.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_advancer.html|title=NASA Expedition 14 Overview|access-date=2006-09-23|archive-date=2021-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510091909/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/exp14_advancer.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[Image:Anousheh Ansari in the ISS.jpg|thumb|Ansari holds a plant grown in the ''[[Zvezda (ISS module)|Zvezda]]'' Service Module of the International Space Station.]]

Asked what she hoped to achieve on her spaceflight, Ansari said, "I hope to inspire everyone—especially young people, women, and young girls all over the world, and in Middle Eastern countries that do not provide women with the same opportunities as men—not to give up their dreams and to pursue them... It may seem impossible to them at times. But I believe they can realize their dreams if they keep it in their hearts, nurture it, and look for opportunities and make those opportunities happen."<ref name="Space.com interview with Anousheh Ansari">{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060915_ansari_qna.html|title=Interview with Anousheh Ansari, the First Female Space Tourist|website=[[Space.com]]|date=15 September 2006|access-date=2006-09-19| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060920022453/http://space.com/missionlaunches/060915_ansari_qna.html| archive-date= 20 September 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> The day before her departure, she was interviewed on Iran national television for the astronomy show ''Night's Sky''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iranian.com/Kasraie/2004/October/Ansari/index.html|title=Up, Up, and Away!}}</ref> The hosts wished her success and thanked her on behalf of the Iranians. Ansari in return thanked them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacescience.ir/eng-Anousheh_Ansari.htm |title=Full Coverage of Anousheh's journey to space |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193654/http://www.spacescience.ir/eng-Anousheh_Ansari.htm |archive-date=2007-09-27 }}</ref>

Ansari lifted off on the [[Soyuz TMA-9]] mission with commander [[Mikhail Tyurin]] ([[Russian Federal Space Agency|RSA]]) and flight engineer [[Michael Lopez-Alegria]] ([[NASA]]) at 04:59 ([[UTC]]) on Monday, September 18, 2006, from [[Baikonur]], [[Kazakhstan]]. Ansari became the fourth (and first female) [[space tourism|space tourist]]. Her contract did not allow for disclosure of the amount paid, but previous space tourists have paid more than $20 million [[USD]]. The spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, September 20, 2006, at 05:21 (UTC).<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5355022.stm | title=Lift-off for woman space tourist | publisher=[[BBC News Online]] | date=2006-09-18 | access-date = 2006-09-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5362944.stm | title=Space tourist, new crew board ISS | publisher=BBC News Online | date=2006-09-20| access-date=2006-09-22}}</ref> Ansari landed safely aboard [[Soyuz TMA-8]] on September 29, 2006, at 01:13 UTC on the steppes of Kazakhstan (90 kilometers north of [[Arkalyk]]) with U.S. [[astronaut]] [[Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeffrey Williams]] and Russian [[cosmonaut]] [[Pavel Vinogradov]].<ref name="INTERVIEW: From space, a new view of an Iranian">{{cite news|title=INTERVIEW: From space, a new view of an Iranian |work=[[Yahoo]] |url=http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060916/3/2pzp7.html |access-date=2006-09-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061109130949/http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060916/3/2pzp7.html |archive-date=2006-11-09 }}</ref> She was given red roses from an unidentified official, and a kiss from her husband, Hamid.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition13/exp13_undocking.html | title=Space Station Crew Back on Earth | publisher=[[NASA]] | date=2006-09-28 | access-date = 2006-09-30| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061003103933/http://www1.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition13/exp13_undocking.html| archive-date= 3 October 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5390902.stm | title=Space tourist in Earth touchdown | publisher=BBC News Online | date=2006-09-29 | access-date = 2006-09-30| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060929184831/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5390902.stm| archive-date= 29 September 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> The crew's rescuers moved them to [[Kustanai]] by helicopter for the welcome ceremony.<ref>{{cite news |title=American female space tourist returns | publisher=[[The Detroit News]] | date=2006-09-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0700world/tm_objectid=17841909&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=space-triumph-prompts-new-line-in-underwear-name_page.html | title=Space triumph prompts new line in underwear | publisher=[[Western Mail (Wales)|icWales, The Western Mail]] | date=2006-09-29 | access-date = 2006-09-30}}</ref>

During her nine-day<ref>{{cite web|title=Expedition 14 Press Kit|url=https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/157366main_ansari.pdf|website=National Aeronautics and Space Administration|publisher=NASA|access-date=16 October 2017}}</ref> stay on board the International Space Station, Ansari agreed to perform a series of experiments on behalf of the [[European Space Agency]]. She conducted four experiments,<ref name="IESA experiments with spaceflight participant Ansari to ISS">{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQRH7LURE_index_0.html|title=IESA experiments with spaceflight participant Ansari to ISS|access-date=2006-09-22| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061106003343/http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQRH7LURE_index_0.html| archive-date= 6 November 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> including:
* Researching the mechanisms behind [[anemia]].
* How changes in muscles influence lower back pain.
* Consequences of space radiation on ISS crew members and different species of microbes that have made a home for themselves on the space station.

She also became the first person to publish a [[weblog]] from space.

=== Iranian flag controversy ===

Ansari intended to wear the [[U.S. flag]] on her spacesuit alongside a politically neutral version of the [[Flag of Iran|Iranian flag]], i.e., the simple 3-color flag with no government-specific emblem, to honor the two countries that have contributed to her life.<ref name="Iranian flag in Space">{{cite news | first= West | last= Ender | url= http://www.persianstudents.org/archives/002273.html | title= Iranian flag in Space | publisher= Persian Students in the UK Weblog | date= 2006-08-28 | access-date= 2007-01-07 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070107153512/http://www.persianstudents.org/archives/002273.html | archive-date= 7 January 2007 | url-status= dead }}</ref> A few U.S.-based media wrongly speculated that she intended to wear the version of the Iranian flag that predated the [[Iranian Revolution|1979 Islamic revolution in Iran]].<ref name="U.S.: Iranian-born To Be First Female Civilian In Space" />

At the insistence of the [[NASA]] and Russian officials, she did not wear the Iranian flag officially but wore the Iranian flag colors instead and kept the Iranian flag on her official flight patch.<ref name="Local space tourist's Iran patch spurs dispute">{{cite news |first=Shelly |last=Slater |url=http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa060914_mo_womanspace.d4fdda8.html |title=Local space tourist's Iran patch spurs dispute |publisher=[[WFAA]] (online) |date=2006-09-14 |access-date=2006-09-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017194432/http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa060914_mo_womanspace.d4fdda8.html |archive-date=2006-10-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> She and her husband said no political message was intended, despite the increasing tensions between the United States and Iran, which had dominated world headlines in the weeks leading up to her launch. She noted that she had "plans to devote her mission to expanding a global consciousness she expected would be seeded with her first look at Earth from space."

=== Reactions to Ansari's flight ===

==== Crewmates ====
[[Michael López-Alegría]], the Spanish-born NASA astronaut who flew on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on the return flight with Ansari, expressed his doubts to reporters before the flight: "I'm not a big fan personally of having those guys go visit the space station because I think a space station is still a place that is under construction, and not quite operational. I don't think it's ideal."<ref name="First Female Space Tourist, Next ISS Crew Set to Launch">{{cite news |first= Ker | last = Than | url=http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060916_exp14_prelaunch.html| title=First Female Space Tourist, Next ISS Crew Set to Launch | publisher=[[space.com]] | date =2006-09-16 | access-date =2006-09-18}}</ref>

López-Alegría later stated that he was skeptical of private tourists a few years ago but now believes it is essential to the survival of the Russian space program, which is important to the U.S. space program: "If that's the correct solution... then not only is it good from the standpoint of supporting the Russian space program, but it's good for us as well," he said. Ansari's presence in space "is a great dream and a great hope not just for our country but for countries all around the world."<ref name="First female space tourist blasts off">{{cite news | first= Mike| last= Eckel |title= First female space tourist blasts off| publisher=[[Yahoo News]] | date= 2006-09-18}}</ref>

The same [[Associated Press]] story also quoted [[Mikhail Tyurin]] describing Ansari as "very professional" and said he felt like they had worked together for a decade. López would eventually change his stance on tourism at the ISS and joined Axiom space, eventually commanding their first tourist mission.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.axiomspace.com/ax1 | title=Meet Ax-1, the Beginning of a New Era }}</ref>

==== Reactions in Iran ====
[[Image:Soyuz TMA-9 crew w ansari.jpg|thumb|The Crew of Soyuz TMA-9: Astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria (left), Anousheh Ansari (middle) and cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Sept. 5, 2006]]
The flight was given significant coverage by [[Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting|Iranian state television]], with an hour-long live interview with Ansari being broadcast on the show ''Asemane Shab'' ("Night Sky"). Ansari was praised by newspapers such as ''Hambastegi'' and ''Jam-e-Jam Daily'', which published daily columns detailing the journey. The [[astronomy]] magazine ''NOJUM'' also published an exclusive interview of Pouria Nazemi with Ansari before her trip, in which she discussed her vision for [[Private spaceflight|commercial spaceflight]]. ''NOJUM'' also organized and held gatherings when the [[ISS]] passed over Iran's cities. Shahram Yazdanpanah made a special part about Anousheh's trip to space at the Persian "Space Science" website and covered all the trip news.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spacescience.ir/Anousheh_Ansari.htm |title=Anousheh Ansari – انوشه انصاري |access-date=2008-05-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602002440/http://www.spacescience.ir/anousheh_ansari.htm |archive-date=2008-06-02 }}</ref>

=== Interviews ===
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:AnoushehAnsari photo.JPG|right|thumb|Anousheh Ansari in an interview from space]] -->
On September 22, 2006, she told reporters she had no regrets and said, "I am having a wonderful time here. It's been more than I expected, and I enjoy every second of it. The entire experience has been wonderful up here."<ref name="savoring 'every single second'">{{cite news |title=First female space tourist savoring 'every single second' in orbit | publisher=AP | date=2006-09-22}}</ref>

== Awards and honors ==
Ansari has received multiple honors, including the George Mason University Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, the George Washington University Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Southwest Region, and the [[Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans|Horatio Alger Award]]. While under her leadership, Telecom Technologies, Inc. earned recognition as one of ''[[Inc. magazine]]''{{'}}s 500 fastest-growing companies and one of [[Deloitte & Touche]]'s [[Fast 500]] technology companies. She was listed in ''[[Fortune Magazine]]''{{'}}s [[40 under 40 (Fortune Magazine)|40 under 40]] list in 2001 and honored by ''[[Working Woman (magazine)|Working Woman]]'' as the winner of the 2000 National Entrepreneurial Excellence award.<ref name=Huffbio>{{cite news| url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/anousheh-ansari| work= [[Huffington Post]] | date= 2006 | title= Anousheh Ansari| access-date= March 21, 2017}}</ref>

In 2009, she received the first NCWIT Symons Innovator Award given annually by the [[National Center for Women & Information Technology]] to honor successful women entrepreneurs in technology.<ref name= Symons>{{cite web| url= https://www.ncwit.org/blog/ncwit-symons-innovator-award| title= NCWIT Symons Innovator Award| date= May 8, 2009| publisher= National Center for Women & Information Technology | website= NCWIT.org| access-date= March 21, 2017}}</ref>

She received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from her alma mater George Mason University on December 20, 2012.

The Ansari family was honored with an [[Orbit Award]] by the [[National Space Society]] and [[Space Tourism Society]] for underwriting the [[Ansari X Prize]].<ref name=borgeons>{{cite web| url= http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/profiling-eileen-borgesons-art-promax-muse-x-prize-pin-space-tourisms-dennis-tito-awards-744056.htm| website= MarketWired.com| date= June 18, 2007 | title= Profiling Eileen Borgeson's Art: Promax Muse, X PRIZE Pin, and Space Tourism's Dennis Tito Awards | publisher= Nasdaq, Inc.| access-date= March 21, 2017}}</ref>

In 2010, she was awarded the [[Ellis Island Medal of Honor]] recognition of her humanitarian efforts.<ref name="Ellis Island Medal">{{cite web| url= http://capitolwords.org/date/2010/06/08/E1036-3_a-tribute-to-the-2010-ellis-island-medal-of-honor-/| first= Dan| last= Burton | author-link= Dan Burton| title= A Tribute To The 2010 Ellis Island Medal Of Honor Recipients| website= capitolwords.org |date= June 8, 2010| publisher= Sunlight Foundation| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150704040728/http://capitolwords.org/date/2010/06/08/E1036-3_a-tribute-to-the-2010-ellis-island-medal-of-honor-/| archive-date= July 4, 2015| access-date= March 21, 2017}}</ref>

In 2015, the [[National Space Society]] awarded Ansari the [[Space Pioneer Awards|Space Pioneer Award]] for her "Service to the Space Community."<ref>{{cite web| publisher=National Space Society Blog |url=http://blog.nss.org/?p=4685|title=Anousheh Ansari Wins the National Space Society's Space Pioneer Award for "Service to the Space Community" |date = 4 March 2015|access-date=March 5, 2015}}</ref>

==Other activities and public appearances==
[[File:AI for Good Global Summit 2018 (41403327244).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Anousheh Ansari at AI for Good Global Summit (2018)]]
Ansari participated as a speaker at the 2010 Honeywell Leadership Academy with [[Homer Hickam]] at [[United States Space Camp]] in Huntsville, Alabama.<ref name="Honeywell Leadership Guide">{{cite web |url= http://www.spacecamp.com/forms/2009HoneywellLeadershipGuide.pdf |title= 2009 Honeywell Leadership Guide |year= 2009 |website= spacecamp.com }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 2009, Ansari was featured in the documentary film ''[[Space Tourists]]'' by independent Swiss filmmaker [[Christian Frei]] about billionaires who paid to ride to the [[International Space Station]] aboard Russian spacecraft.<ref name="Space Tourists">{{cite web|url=http://www.space-tourists-film.com/en/film_synopsis.php |title= Synopsis | website= space-tourists-film.com| access-date= March 21, 2017}}</ref> The DVD of the film was released in 2011.

She was the commencement speaker and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from [[Utah Valley University]] on April 25, 2013.<ref name="UVU Commencement">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.uvu.edu/newsroom/2013/03/11/first-iranian-in-space-to-speak-at-uvus-72nd-commencement-ceremony/|title=First Iranian In Space To Speak At UVU's 72nd Commencement Ceremony| website= uvu.edu| publisher= Utah Valley University| date= March 11, 2013}}</ref>

On February 26, 2017, she and [[Firouz Naderi]] represented Iranian filmmaker [[Asghar Farhadi]] at the [[89th Academy Awards]]. They accepted the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]] for ''[[The Salesman (2016 film)|The Salesman]]'' on Farhadi's behalf. Farhadi did not attend the ceremony due to his opposition to [[President Trump]]'s immigration ban applying to seven Muslim countries, including [[Iran]]. Farhadi selected Ansari and Naderi as his representatives because both are successful Iranian-Americans who immigrated to the US.<ref>{{cite magazine| url= https://time.com/4681987/asghar-farhadi-oscars-anousheh-iranian-american-space-experts/ |title= Asghar Farhadi Will Be Represented By 2 Iranian-American Space Experts at the Oscars| first= Kate| last= Samuelson| date= February 24, 2017| magazine= [[Time (magazine)|Time]]| access-date= February 28, 2017}}</ref>

Ansari has served on the boards of directors for [[Make-a-Wish Foundation]] of North Texas and Collin County Children's Advocacy Center.<ref name= Huffbio /> She has been active with several nonprofit organizations, including the nonprofit [[Iranian American Women Foundation]] organization.<ref>{{cite web| last1= Ansari| first1= Anousheh| title= Iranian American Women Foundation| url= http://www.iawfoundation.org/community/anousheh-ansari/profile/| website= Iranian American Women Foundation| access-date= 27 June 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150701013605/http://www.iawfoundation.org/community/anousheh-ansari/profile/| archive-date= 1 July 2015| url-status= dead}}</ref> Other non-profit organizations include Ashoka in its support of social entrepreneurs.

==Personal life==
While working at MCI, she met Hamid Ansari. They married in 1991. The Ansaris reside in [[Plano, Texas|Plano]], [[Texas]]. She is also the aunt of the American actors [[Yara Shahidi]] and [[Sayeed Shahidi]].

== See also ==
* [[Iranian women]]
* [[List of famous Iranian women]]
* [[List of International Space Station visitors]]
* [[Women in space]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Anousheh Ansari}}
* {{official website|http://www.anoushehansari.com/}}
* [http://spaceblog.xprize.org/ Anousheh Ansari Space Blog] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004182227/http://spaceblog.xprize.org/ |date=2006-10-04 }}
* [http://www.space-tourists-film.com/ Space Tourists, a documentary film from Christian Frei with Anousheh Ansari]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080602002440/http://www.spacescience.ir/anousheh_ansari.htm Anousheh Ansari in SpaceScience.ir (in Persian)]
* {{C-SPAN|9267209}}
* [http://ovimagazine.com/art/3857 Interview with Anousheh Ansari] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501161319/http://ovimagazine.com/art/3857 |date=2021-05-01 }}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/archive/7968022.stm A 'passion' for space travel BBC/Click Video Interview with Anousheh Ansari]
* [http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/ansari_anousheh.htm Spacefacts astronaut bio] April 2018

{{Iranian Space Program}}
{{space tourism}}
{{Space tourists}}
{{Ansari X-Prize}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Anousheh}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American engineers]]
[[Category:21st-century American memoirists]]
[[Category:21st-century American businesswomen]]
[[Category:21st-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:21st-century Iranian women]]
[[Category:American astronauts]]
[[Category:Muslims from Virginia]]
[[Category:American technology chief executives]]
[[Category:American women chief executives]]
[[Category:American writers of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:Ansari X Prize]]
[[Category:George Mason University alumni]]
[[Category:George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni]]
[[Category:Iranian astronauts]]
[[Category:Iranian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Iranian philanthropists]]
[[Category:Iranian women engineers]]
[[Category:People from Mashhad]]
[[Category:Space tourists]]
[[Category:Women astronauts]]
[[Category:21st-century American women scientists]]
[[Category:Scientists from Plano, Texas]]