Anousheh Ansari, the first female space tourist, is set to depart to the International Space Station on the Soyuz TM9 on September 18th.

An Iranian immigrant who now hales from Plano, Texas, she purchased her $20 million dollar ticket through Space Adventures for the privilege of spending eight days in space.

The self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur made her fortune in the telecom industry and has always dreamed of heading to the stars. She hopes to act as an inspiration for other entrepreneurs to support space flight through private donations.

For now, I’m just wishing another Texan would head off into space.

Happy Travels!