Roots in Iran
At 35, Ms Ansari was one of only two women to be featured in a Fortune magazine list of America's 40 most successful business figures under the age of 40. She was described as "the boldest newcomer".
Ms Ansari has been wearing both the American and Iranian flags on her space suit in training. She says she wanted to recognise both countries' contributions to her life.
I feel very close to the Iranian people and the culture of the country
''I was born in Iran and lived there until the age of 16 and then moved to the United States,'' she said in an interview recently. ''So I have a lot of roots in Iran and feel very close to the Iranian people and the culture of the country.''
Her trip has received limited attention in Iran, although a few days before she was scheduled to blast into space, an Iranian TV channel aired a 70-minute interview with her.
Ms Ansari says she will write the first blog from space. She says that her ultimate goal is to bring her experience and "the ability to fly to space to more and more people and to inspire young woman and men to go into the fields related to space."
She has already attracted praise from Iranians and Americans alike on her blog.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5345872.stm
Mashallah to her... I hope everything is going good, i heard on the radio today that the rocket started having some problems.
Kidman