Anousheh

An original from 2006, when Iranian-American engineer (and Plano resident) Anousheh Ansari flew as a paying passenger to the International Space Station; she and her brother-in-law helped fund the Ansari X-Prize for reusable spacecraft development, eventually won by SpaceShipOne (and if I elaborated on that, this note would be longer than the song).

As her crew was donning their spacesuits at Baikonur Cosmodrome for their Soyuz flight (I am resisting the urge to keep adding Wikipedia links), she gave a Vulcan salute for the cameras, and won my geekly heart….

Words and music by Joseph Abbott

Anousheh, I can see the stars in your eyes
Anousheh, they’re in mine, too
Did you say, that you’ll carry us to the skies?
I wish I could be there with you

In my youth, I dreamed of flying out into space
Though in truth, I knew the chances were few
But last night, I saw the future shine in your face
As you made your own dream come true

I know that it’s still a rich man’s game
And we’re still a long way apart
But the dream is getting closer, just the same
This is only the start

It won’t always be an eight-digit fare
We won’t be always left at the dock
Someday soon the rest of us’ll get out there
We’re gonna soar off this rock!

Anousheh, I can see the stars in your eyes
Anousheh, they’re in mine, too
Did you say, that you’ll carry us to the skies?
I wish I could be there with you
Someday soon, I’ll be there with you