Here’s Richard Garriott on a recent Austin ZEROG flight

Fellow Austinite Richard Garriott talks more in the December issue of PC Gamer about his upcoming trip to space:

I grew up with an astronaut father, and space has been my pinnacle interest since I was young…. the probability of me going [to space] the same way my dad did was zero….

Since earning my earliest profits in the games industry, I have been investing in privatizing space….

Here’s how he enabled Dennis Tito to get into space with his investment in Space Adventures.

I am also involved in Zero G, which has given me a taste of what I might experience in space. Zero G uses a modified Boeing 727 to take people on parabolic flights into microgravity. Anyone can book these flights and I tell you, it will change your life. People get giddy on these flights; they experience true happiness and living in the moment. I enjoy these flights so much that I recently chartered four of them to help promote the release of my space epic MMPORG Tabula Rasa. And my experience on them solidified my desire to get private citizens into space as well–even those without bazillions of dollars.

… I am lucky enough to be able to go into space myself through our work with the Russian Government! Earlier this month, we announced that I will be going into space as the seventh private space explorer, and the first second-generation astronaut, next year. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. But I’m still my father’s son[;] I will be part of a team conducting experiments and bringing back new knowledge and data concentrating in four areas: commercial, educational, environmental, and artistic. This isn’t just a joy ride for me; it’s something I need to do.

Amen on the ZEROG flights.

There’s a little more in his trip-to-space blog.