Mar 19 2001
From The Space Library
Russian cosmonauts training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, staged a one-day walkout to protest NASA’s rejection of millionaire Dennis A. Tito as a member of the Russian crew that would travel aboard the Soyuz to the ISS on 30 April. Space enthusiast Dennis Tito had paid the cash-strapped Russian Space Agency a reported US$20 million to make the trip. Russia’s agreement with the untrained Tito had sparked debate over the proper use of the ISS and over so-called space tourism. Talgat A. Musabayev, the Kazakh cosmonaut who was to command Tito’s crew, removed his men from the training program in Houston after learning that NASA would not allow Tito to participate in the exercises. NASA argued that allowing a person who had not trained as an astronaut to travel to space would pose safety risks, especially since the ISS remained a work-in-progress. Russian officials contended that they had the right to transport aboard their spacecraft any person they deemed fit for the mission. Both sides pledged to find a resolution to the disagreement. (Kathy Sawyer, “Space Tourism Sparks U.S.-Russian Standoff,” Washington Post, 20 March 2001; Warren E. Leary, “NASA Opposing Russian Plan for Tourist on Space Station,” New York Times, 21 March 2001; Marcia Dunn, “Cosmonauts to NASA: Millionaire Comrade Trains with Us or Nobody Trains,” 20 March 2001.)
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