A first for space tourism

BAIKONUR (Kazakhstan), APRIL 28. American businessman, Mr. Dennis Tito, blasted off into space aboard a Russian rocket at 1.07 p.m. on Saturday, heading for the International Space Station and becoming the world's first space tourist. The Itar-tass news agency reported that the Soyuz-TM capsule separated from the booster nine minutes after blast-off and that the capsule had entered into its orbit.

The launch took place uneventfully after Russian and U.S. space officials agreed hours earlier to iron out technical difficulties arising from a computer glitch aboard the ISS.

Live pictures broadcast by CNN television showed Mr. Tito in his space-suit talking calmly with the Russian crew members, Commander Talgat Musabayev and engineer, Mr. Yuri Baturin.

The flight is scheduled to last 10 days. The Soyuz is expected to dock with the ISS on Monday, and Mr. Tito will return to earth on may 6.

Hours earlier, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) withdrew a demand for a postponement after Russian officials agreed that the docking of the Soyuz rocket with the ISS could be delayed if necessary. Mr. Tito, a Californian multi-millionaire and former NASA engineer, agreed to pay Russia $20 million for the flight which makes him the first space tourist, paying his own way and flying for purely recreational purposes.

The NASA reluctantly agreed to allow him to fly to the ISS on Tuesday, having objected on safety grounds for several months previously.

Speaking to Kazakh television later, Mr. Yuri Koptev, head of the Russian space agency, expressed satisfaction over the progress of the mission. ``All problems were on the political level. But we finally found consensus with all our partners. This flight opens a new era in the history of space exploration when not only professional cosmonauts but amateurs can fly into space.''

- Reuters

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