Space tourist boards capsule for return home

Dennis Tito holds a news conference Friday accompanied by Russian cosmonauts Yuri Baturin, left, and Talgat Musabayev

By Richard Stenger
CNN

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- All vacations must end, including that of Dennis Tito, the first paying tourist to enjoy the sight of his home planet from beyond the confines of terrestrial gravity.

The California tycoon departed the international space station Saturday and entered the Russian space craft Soyuz in preparation for the return to Earth. Tito's trip sparked a spirited debate over whether the dangerous void of space was ready for hordes of well-heeled sightseers.

The Soyuz is scheduled to undock from the space station shortly after 10 p.m. ET. Tito and his two cosmonaut crew members are expected to land in the barren steppes of Central Asia about four hours later.

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"I am enjoying this so much. If I were allowed, I would spend several months up here in space," Tito told Russian mission control on Friday.

Despite misgivings from NASA that Tito should have waited to take his joyride until more construction was completed on the multi-billion dollar complex, the trip ignited speculation that others among the jet set would set their sights higher than the atmosphere.

Names that have surfaced include filmmaker James Cameron, an Oscar winner looking for the perfect camera angle to capture planet Earth.

While praising Cameron for waiting for NASA's blessing to ride to the station, NASA chief Dan Goldin constantly took swipes at Tito before reporters and congress, referring to the gigantic ego and space unworthiness of the Wall Street investor.

"The current situation has put an incredible stress on the men and women of NASA," Goldin told a House subcommittee on Wednesday. "Mr. Tito does not realize the effort of thousands of people, United States and Russia, who are working to protect his safety and the safety of everyone else."

Floating upward more than 200 miles, such protests hardly penetrated the thick hull of the space complex, where Tito, a former NASA rocket scientist, enjoyed the congenial support of his Soyuz comrades, the courteous hospitality of two NASA astronauts living on Alpha and a warm embrace when he met the station's Russian commander.

Filled with the sounds of arias and overtures and the sights of passing continents and oceans, the serene world of citizen explorer Tito was interrupted only by an early bout of space nausea.

And the occasional press conference, when he dismissed Goldin's assertion that his presence threatened the safety of the space pros. Rather, Tito, who is paying as much as $20 million for the roundtrip vacation, was actually pitching in to help.

"I've been shelling out food and doing rather menial tasks to assist the crew and give them more time for their other work," Tito said.

Safety was the reason Tito, 60, could make the trip in the first place. He tagged along with Russians Talgat Musabayev and Yuri Baturin, who delivered a fresh Soyuz escape capsule to Alpha last Monday.

A new Soyuz is needed every six months because toxic fuels aboard the Russian ships degrade and possibly corrode engine parts over time. The old vessel had about two weeks left on its 200-day warranty.

NASA, the leading partner among 16 nations piecing Alpha together, took umbrage at the fact that Moscow sold a seat on the Soyuz taxi flight to a non-professional.

But the cash-strapped Russian space program, which controls the passenger list on the essential Soyuz mission, could continue its experiment in high-flying capitalism, especially considering that the ticket price covers the cost of the entire flight. Many will likely be ready to pay.

"Before I flew to space, I had no idea how comfortable it would be," Tito said. "I think if a lot of people know what I know now there would be a huge demand."

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International Space Station

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