Geeks in the driving seat of the new space race

Since Anousheh Ansari was a little girl, she dreamed of exploring space. Then she became one of the most successful female IT entrepreneurs in history and decided to do something about it.

The Iranian-born electrical engineer made a fortune at the height of the Internet bubble, selling start-up Telecom Technologies to Sonus Networks for an estimated $440m. In May, she joined the growing ranks of IT luminaries jumping into the space race, lending her name and undisclosed financial backing to the $10m contest now known as the Ansari X Prize.

The contest made history this week, when Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's SpaceShipOne craft sped 100km above Earth's surface and then landed safely in the Mojave desert for the second time in less than a week -- a feat some believe could help spawn a commercial spaceflight industry.

"After we sold the company, Anousheh and I shared a passion to get involved in space activity," said brother-in-law and Telecom Technologies co-founder Amir Ansari. "But for the longest time it seemed like a wish list you wanted to do but couldn't take seriously."

What is it with deep-pocket geeks and space?

Whether you blame the Apollo moon landings, Isaac Asimov, "Star Trek" or the sheer giddiness of all that instant money, it's clear that wealthy tech celebrities have the space bug. The list of IT veterans turned space junkies includes Allen, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, PayPal founder Elon Musk and Id Software's John Carmack, to name a few.

The bridge from technology entrepreneur to space voyager seems natural. Many tech players have publicly pined for the day when space travel will become affordable for average folks.

"I think there's a strong natural affinity for tech entrepreneurs to space," said Musk, who's backing a venture called SpaceX. "A lot of people read science fiction when they were kids. They might not have gone to Trekkie conventions, but they sure watched the series."

Others cite NASA's early space efforts in the 1960s as a major inspiration. After SpaceShipOne landed successfully for the first time last week, a radiant Allen entered a packed press room wearing a Seattle Seahawk's cap, the NFL team that he owns, and a boyish grin.

"As a kid I followed the golden age of the space program," Allen mused. "In grade school they'd wheel in a TV on this big stand, and we'd sit there in class watching the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo launches."