Anousheh Ansari

Anousheh Ansari (Persian: ????? ????????; née Raissyan; born September 12, 1966, in Mashhad, Iran) is an Iranian-American engineer and co-founder and chairwoman of Prodea Systems. Her previous business accomplishments include serving as co-founder and CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI). The Ansari family is also the title sponsor of the Ansari X Prize. On September 18, 2006, a few days after her 40th birthday, she became the first Iranian woman in space. Ansari was the fourth overall self-funded space traveler, and the first self-funded woman to fly to the International Space Station.