First Space Tourist Tito Could Possibly Fly to ISS as Early as April

Various moves by the Rosaviakosmos, the Russian space agency, indicate that Dennis Tito could fly aboard a Soyuz TM spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on a launch scheduled for April 30. Tito contracted with MirCorp for a flight to Mir, however Mir is expected to be deorbited in March.

The crew scheduled for the ISS ferry mission is Mission Commander Talgat Musabayev and Flight Engineer Yuri Baturin. Both cosmonauts can speak English. Original plans called for the Russian female cosmonaut Nadezhda Kuzhelnaya to be on this first ferry crew to ISS, but Kuzhelnaya cannot speak English (she is now scheduled to fly on a later flight to ISS). The Russian’s are providing Soyuz capsules to rescue the crew should problems occur on ISS. The spacecraft need to be swapped every six months.

Tito’s flight, however, may be postponed. The Russian’s have been making it clear that all plans related to Tito's trip to space remain tentative. Tito’s trip needs to be approved by the Russian Interdepartmental Commission and NASA. Meetings are underway in Moscow between NASA and the Russian parties. Tito also must pass a more intensive medical examination.

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