By Megan Power and Chimaimba Banda
Mark Shuttleworth and Nelson Mandela have paid tribute to the teenager who reached for the stars with her daring marriage proposal to Africa's first astronaut.
Michelle Foster, 14, did not live long enough to meet the man of her dreams.
When Shuttleworth heard late last week that the condition of terminally ill Michelle Foster, of Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal, was worsening, he made an urgent call to her home.
'She fought right to the end' But Michelle was already too weak to take it.
Two days later, on Sunday, the Grade 9 pupil succumbed to cancer.
Mandela's spokesperson, Zelda la Grange, said: "Madiba was shocked to hear of the death of Michelle. He said Michelle gained his admiration for her strength and her willpower to fight to the end."
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Shuttleworth's personal assistant, Megan Elliot, said news of Michelle's death had reached him through the Reach for a Dream Foundation. "Mark was clearly saddened by the news. He had been honoured by the opportunity to have spoken to her."
Her mother, Jenny, said: "I was very blessed to have such a strong, brave little girl. She fought right to the end."
'He was quite upset and wanted to talk to her' Michelle, who had described herself as a "pretty normal" teenager, made headlines on May 2 when she cheekily popped the question to the billionaire during a live satellite link-up.
She had been flown to Johannesburg as the special guest of Mandela, whom she'd met during a Reach for a Dream Foundation visit the month before.
She had told Mandela she wanted to be an astronomer.
In a live programme arranged for Mandela to speak to Shuttleworth, at which Michelle was present, she had asked Shuttleworth: "I was wondering if you would like to marry me."
Speaking from the International Space Station, Shuttleworth told her: "I am very honoured by the question. I hear you would like to be an astronomer. You would love it in space."
Michelle had been prompted to pop the question after seeing him on television and remarking that "Mark's quite nice".
Shuttleworth, who seemed a little bashful about the proposal, later tracked the teenager down and phoned her from the space station.
Her father, Gavin Foster, quipped after the proposal: "She said she'd marry him if he asked, but he'd better hurry up."
Denise Towell, KwaZulu Natal co-ordinator for the Reach for a Dream Foundation, said the billionaire had asked to be kept updated about Michelle's condition.
"When he heard she was deteriorating, he was quite upset and wanted to talk to her. But we told him that she wasn't able to.
"She was such a little fighter, but it didn't help in the end," she said.
Shuttleworth was informed of Michelle's death on Monday.
Michelle, who had already lost a leg, had opted not to continue with further chemotherapy after completing a course last year.
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