Richard Garriott is a notorious game producer, being well known for his imaginative RPGs, and more currently, he is widely known for his statute of space tourist. After an investment of $30 million Richard Garriott fulfilled his long time dream of reaching outer space and by doing so he became the first second generation American astronaut, following in the footsteps of his father, Owen Garriott.

The game producer collaborated with Space Adventures, a company that helped other millionaires take a stroll on the Earth’s orbit, and embarked on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that took the millionaire on a 12 day visit on the International Space Station.

Richard Garriott successfully landed back on earth on Thursday, along with other two Russian astronauts. The Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan and were greeted by the icy weather common to the central Asian steppes. The return of the Soyuz spacecraft is special as it brought back on Earth two second generation astronauts, which fulfilled their dreams of space flight in two different ways.

Commander Sergei Volkov is also a second generation astronaut, as his father Alexander Volkov was also an astronaut, and he reached this statute by enrolling in the air force.

On the other hand, Richard Garriott couldn’t take the traditional path to space adventurer as his poor eyesight disqualified him for the job. With a little persistence and will, the game producer managed to reach outer space and return safely.

On his stay on the International Space Station, Garriott participated in several scientific experiments, took pictures of the Earth to compare with the ones his father took when on SkyLab and showed the world that dreams are not to be taken lightly.

Owen Garriott, who spent two months in the first orbiting space station in 1973, and the elder Volkov both stood in Baikonour to welcome their sons home.

Russia's Space Agency head, Anatoly Perminov, said he could not recall a more "ideal" landing.

In its two previous returns, the Soyuz capsule went badly off- course, crashing upside down into the atmosphere and raising safety concerns among Russian and American space experts over its safety.

Perminov also spoke of fears that the global financial crisis would cut into Russia's Soyuz programme, which from 2010 to 2015 will be the only ride to space as NASA, the US space programme, halts its flights to the ISS.

"We are holding talks with NASA on the use of the Soyuz spaceships. The talks are difficult. It is hard to say whether we shall fully meet our commitments in this financial crisis," he warned.