01. How long would it take us to prepare to go? (A K2S Question)
From The Space Library
The length of time it will take to prepare to go to space will depend on whether you are going as a member of the crew or are taking advantage, as I did, of the commercialization of space travel. In pursuit of my dream, I left my business, family and home in California and, for about eight months, moved into a two-room flat in Star City, a Russian military base outside of Moscow. There I lived a fairly Spartan existence dedicating myself to my training. The comprehensive training program I completed closely mirrored that of any Russian cosmonaut-engineer. In total, my training encompassed approximately 800 hours of instruction and practice and ranged from emergency and evacuation procedures and basic life support and engineering systems, to simulations of ascent and descent and zero-gravity to housekeeping chores and taking care of personal hygiene needs. My detailed technical training was not only on the Soyuz, but also on the Russian-built elements of the International Space Station (ISS): Zarya, the functional cargo block (FGB) and Zvezda, the service module, as well as their subsystems. Because of the nature of my flight, it is important to note that I was trained as a passenger, not as someone expected to take the controls of the Soyuz.
Answer provided by Dennis Tito
Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer
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