Astronauts Welcome the First Clown in Space

The rounder of Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte, blasted off into the heavens on September 30 in a Soyuz capsule, headed for the international space station. Accompanying him were Maxim Surayey, a Russian cosmonaut, and American astronaut Jeffrey Williams. Laliberte’s dream of being "the first clown in space" is finally coming true.

Before entering the capsule, Laliberte put on a red clown nose, smilingly blew kisses to his many supporters and fans, and then held both of his hands over his heart in the classic mime’s gesture of affection. Friends and family standing on the ground below spontaneously broke into singing "Rocket Man" by Elton John. Laliberte had brought along novelty noses for his other crew members and promised to the assembled crowd that he plans to tickle them while they are sleeping.

"I’m a person with a pretty high spirit," said Laliberte weeks earlier when talking to the media about his impending flight. On October 9 he will host the first multimedia event ever broadcast from the station, to highlight the crisis of drinking water problems suffered around the world. Pulling out a handful of clown noses, he said, "This is the symbol of my mission, but it will also remind me that I should never forget I was once a kid." Laliberte, born in Quebec, is probably going to be the final private individual paying a tourist fare to visit the station. NASA is going to be mothballing their fleet of space shuttles, and Soyuz craft will be relied on for astronauts to travel back and forth to the international space station.

Laliberte, a 50-year-old billionaire, has paid $35 million for his once-in-a-lifetime highwire act. So far only six others have made the trip to the space station, paying between $20-45 million apiece. Laliberte’s venture is not the least bit surprising to those who know him; he began his career as a fire-breather in a traveling troupe of other street performers and eventually used his risk and brash adventurousness to create Cirque du Soleil and turn it into an international phenomenon. Laliberte, whose net worth is estimated at nearly $2.5 billion, was one of only a handful of billionaires who actually increased their fortune last year.

A small gathering of family and friends watched monitors anxiously as they waited for news that the launch had been successful. Laliberte’s partner, Claudia Barilla, a former model, watched the capsule take off wearing her own yellow closen nose and holding their child in her arms. With tears running down her face, she told reporters that she is very happy for him, and it is amazing that he is able to realize his dream. When the announcement came that the rocket had reached orbit, the crowd burst into cheers. "Now we know he’s up there," said Barilla. Laliberte will return to Earth in 12 days.