Matthew Chance: Dennis Tito, world's first space tourist

CNN correspondent Matthew Chance

Matthew Chance is a CNN correspondent. He is reporting from Moscow on Dennis Tito, the first tourist in space.

Q: What has been happening on the international space station today?

CHANCE: Since the arrival and the docking process between the international space station and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, computer checks were first of all were carried out to make sure the docking procedure was perfect, that there were no leakages and that everything was connected properly. After that, the hatches on both the space station and the Soyuz capsule were opened, and the crew of the Soyuz was able to move into the international space station proper. There were a number of boxes of equipment that have been transferred from the Soyuz to the space station, equipment to be used to carry out scientific experiments over the course of the mission in the next few days.

AUDIO Dennis Tito: I love space 225 K/10 sec. AIFF or WAV sound   VIDEO CNN's Matthew Chance has more on Dennis Tito's first few hours in space (April 30) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Watch space shuttle Endeavour separate from the international space station (April 29) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   QUICKVOTE If money was no object, would you consider taking a holiday in space? Yes No View Results   MISSION GUIDE Interactive guide to STS-100   INTERACTIVE A 360° stroll through the international space station Cult3D models of the international space station   IN-DEPTH SPECIALS Space Shuttle Central City in Space   MESSAGE BOARD Human spaceflight

The cosmonauts, including Dennis Tito, also had to move the seat linings of the Soyuz craft they came up in, leaving the actual seats, and put them into the other Soyuz capsule which is used as an escape vessel on the side of the space station. That's the vessel that they are replacing, the vessel that Dennis Tito will be coming back down to Earth in.

Q: What are Tito's plans now he is on board the ISS?

CHANCE: Dennis Tito won't be engaged in any day-to-day operational running of the space station, but he has told us that he intends to take a lot of photographs of the magnificent view from the window of the space station down to Earth. He's also going to listen to a lot of music, and has a couple of CD's with him, a few operas, and a Beatles' album.

Q: Does Tito expect any benefits from his trip?

CHANCE: Dennis Tito said that he thinks that in the long run, his visit to the space station will be of some benefit for both NASA and the Russian Space Agency. Of course the immediate benefit for the Russian Space Agency being that they get $20 million in cash of his money for the privately funded trip as the first space tourist. But he thinks that the publicity generated by his visit to the space station will be of benefit generally to space research and to the space mission in the future.

Q: Why was NASA opposed to Tito's visit, and why did the Russians insist on going on with it over NASA's objections?

CHANCE: The thrust of NASA's objections was that they said that an amateur like Dennis Tito, whom they hadn't approved, might pose a significant safety risk to the rest of the crew members on board the international space station. They only lifted their objections a few days before Mr. Tito's launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday, and that was when Mr. Tito agreed to sign a number of papers saying that he wouldn't sue anyone if he was injured during the course of the trip. He also signed a waiver to the effect that he wouldn't venture into the American parts of the international space station without a U.S. astronaut escorting him. He also signed a waiver saying that he would pay for any sensitive equipment that he might break during his six-day visit. The Russians, though, have all along said that they would not back down in the face of the American objections, and that Mr. Tito was a legitimate, fully paid up member of their crew, and he would go ahead along with the other two crew members.

Q: In terms of public relations, has this affected NASA's public image at all?

CHANCE: I think there was probably a danger of that when they were voicing their concerns even though there was a lot of excitement around the world at the prospect of the world's first space tourist, but since then NASA's position has been softened considerably. They've actually said they have given some of their astronauts some time off, while NASA checks the computers on Earth associated with the international space station, so that in the words of one NASA spokesman, "they'll have plenty of time to entertain their guests from the Soyuz."

Q: How many people are there on board the ISS at present, and how many of them are U.S. astronauts?

CHANCE: Apart from Dennis Tito, there are five people on board, the crew already on the ISS, a Russian cosmonaut commander and two American astronauts, and also the two Russian cosmonauts accompanying Mr. Tito on the Soyuz capsule, making six altogether.

Q: Do the Russians have any plans for further space tourism?

CHANCE: If everything continues to go according to plan up there in space, back here on Earth, everyone is expecting something of an upsurge in interest in space tourism. In fact, the Russian Space Agency has said it is negotiating with a number of individuals right now for the next privately funded trip into space. Of course, they said that before they do induct anybody else into the rigorous nine month or so training program that Mr. Tito went through, they would have to make sure there weren't going to be any of the objections that were raised by NASA in the weeks running up to Mr. Tito's flight.

Q: Is there any viable commercial interest in space tourism?

CHANCE: I think at this stage the only opportunities that are open are these orbital flight trips to the international space station, either with the Americans or the Russians. We've seen from the price that Dennis Tito paid, $20 million, and the time he had to put into training, some nine months in the Russian cosmonaut training program, that not everyone, even if they do have $20 million, can afford the nine months of intensive training required to do it. So at this stage the prospect of mass space travel isn't with us, though certainly it has come a long way with the trip by Dennis Tito. There are a lot of plans underway to try and develop flights that don't actually have to dock with the international space station, just go up into the closest areas of space, fly around for half an hour and come back to Earth, using vehicles that could take maybe a hundred people at a time, but at this stage, the technology just isn't there.

Tourist floating on air over visit to space station
April 30, 2001
Dennis Tito: A passion for space
April 30, 2001
Tourist enters space station
April 27, 2001
Russia 'plans more space tourism'
April 29, 2001
Space tourist Tito blasts off
April 28, 2001

Russian Space Agency
NASA
International Space Station
Space Shuttle Programme

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