NASA is Right to Deny Passage to ''Space Tourist''

June 22, 2001 -- The Russian space station Mir splashed safely into the South Pacific last week, but an odd bit of its legacy may return to orbit.

A "space tourist," originally scheduled to visit Mir earlier this year, has been included with a Russian crew that will join residing astronauts at the International Space Station in late April. This transfer from Mir to the ISS represents a misguided attempt to transfer the responsibilities of a private contract to the other members of the international space program.

California investment executive Dennis Tito made news last year by paying MirCorp and RKK Energia (Mir's operating company) roughly $20 million for the privilege of accompanying two Russian astronauts to Mir, at a time when the aging space station's future was still uncertain. Tito's high-profile purchase was the kickoff to MirCorp's strategy to transform Mir into a commercial venture open to wealthy travelers and for-profit scientific research.

As an experienced investor, Tito presumably was aware of the shaky condition of Russia's finances, and the Russian Space Agency's decision to drop Mir in favor of their involvement with the International Space Station was not surprising. However, Mir's demise does not entitle Tito or the Russian government (on his behalf) to force the current crew at the International Space Station to play host to an under-qualified visitor. They are wrong to attach the United States and other countries to revised terms of a contract in which these nations had no part.

Currently, NASA and the Russian Space Agency are at an impasse over Tito's status. He remains on the Russian crew, but the United States has refused to allow him to join the team's training in Houston.

Unlike John Glenn, whose background and knowledge allowed him to plan and monitor his own civilian zero gravity studies, Tito knows just enough to stay out of trouble. His nine months of training at Star City (Russia's astronaut-training facility) were limited primarily to physical exams, testing his capacity to perform simple functions in orbit. He has not completed the comprehensive training that full-time astronauts undergo in order to properly respond to a myriad of potential problems.

For the originally planned voyage to Mir, Russia was comfortable with Tito's minimal training, given his ride-along status to an already-established space station. However, Tito's transfer raises concerns about the safety of the other crewmembers at the fledgling International Space Station.

Still in relative infancy, the ISS is basically a shell under construction. Recent missions have featured highly difficult dockings, multi-ton module attachments, and record-length space walks. In this work environment, the residing crew has the right to demand the highest caliber of talent in visiting astronauts.

At a later date, aboard a completed space station, Dennis Tito would be an ideal "space tourist" candidate. His involvement in the space industry dates back to the mid-1960s, when he plotted trajectories for the Mariner missions as an employee of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories.

In the midst of his excitement and the watching world's attention, however, he should not forget how he achieved astronaut status. He bought a ticket, and his association with the space program should remain within the context of this agreement. The cancellation of the fantasy-flight to Mir is an issue entirely between Tito and Russia. In this case, NASA has no moral or scientific obligations to host an under-trained civilian. They are right to refuse his passage.

Update: Dennis Tito did visit the International Space Station as part of the Russian crew in April 2001.

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