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Tito In Space
SanLouBlues writes: "This story has the scoop on Dennis Tito in space. He is up there now and will be for the next 6 days "with his video camera and CD player." whee."
trolebus contributes links to coverage on CNN and on Reuters.
It's been a long, strange story -- the optimisic Tito was originally planning on going to Mir, but looks like he got an upgrade. I hope he's savoring this trip for $20 million worth of memories. Don't forget, there is a cheaper version of space tourism on the horizon, too.
I bet the beautiful blue-white-hazel view from the window is worth twice 20 M USD. It's our home, seen from a distance. We all live there. And still we fight wars and picker about things.
The Russians are giving up a substantial chance to do science and engineering research; the operation of the station isn't expected to be delayed despite being a crewman short, as it were, for months...
Very good post but you are wrong about one thing. The Russians are riding a new Soyuz up there and coming back in the old one that is currently docked to the ISS. They will do this every six months regardless of any research that they will be performing. It only takes two people to drop off a Soyuz but it has three seats. They are not giving up anything by bringing Tito along.
You keep on quoting this $20 million dollars he's paid. You can bet his contracts with a major television company for exclusive rights to his camcorder tapes will go along way to paying back the $20M. Then the Interview circuit on his return, the book rights, after that, the talk circuit. He's going to come out ahead financially, AND he get's all that adrenalin thrown in, what a rush! If I could afford the interest on the $20M loan, for the few months it takes, I'd do it!
I wish NASA would stop being such pricks about the whole thing. You know the American astronauts have been "ordered" to treat him like dirt. He paid ($20 million!) fair and square, he knows the risks he is taking, and the odds that he'd screw up anything on the station are remote. I think it's a great statement: If you work hard enough and get enough money you can do anything. It's just too bad that seems to be more true of Russia than the U.S. at this point. NASA, it's a PR bonanza. Ph@ckin' wake up!!! I just wish it were me.
"The payload capability for the same satellite deploy mission with a 57-degree inclination is 41,000 pounds."
Assuning an average weight of 150 pounds (68kg) for people (some will weigh more, some less), that's enough for 273 people. So spread that $20,000,000 cost over a few hundred passengers and that cost starts to come down. We're at $73,000 per person now.
Couple this with more flights, corporate sponsoring, casinos, etc., and you could whittle this down to under $20,000 easy. Still a high price, but not so much for the jet set or for business to send some staff up. And for sure radio stations and such will buy tickets and give them away to contest winners.
The age of the common man in space may be nearer than you think.
Nasa announced today that cosmonaut Dennis Tito has been billed for repairs to the International Space Station, where work has fallen behind schedule because system servers keep crashing. "He agreed to it as part of his contract for the flight" said NASA spokesperson Chris Craft. When asked to explain why Mr. Tito had been responsible for the server crashes when he wasn't even in the ISS at the time of the mishap, NASA responded "He just is, OK?" Taking his contractual obligations seriously, Mr. Tito has phoned Apple Computer to, as he put it "Snag these NASA cowboys some decent hardware." He also made calls to LinuxPPC, Inc., in Wisconsin, and Pizza Hut Corp., a restaurant chain in America.
3,333,333 $ per day
138,889 $ per hour
2,315 $ per minute
39 $ per second
Look at your bank account balance, and see how much time in space you can afford. :-)
This is just NASA trying to keep their current near monopoly on manned space flight. They have to pretend that only people who work for them are competent to leave the atmosphere.
This actually reminds me of the fuss the Russians raised when Mir went down about leaving only the US with a significant manned space presence. This was dismissed as nationalist propaganda by the western news services that covered it, and they were largely correct, but perhaps there is some nuget of truth in the Russian's fears. Although the ISS is international, I don't think anyone will deny that NASA is the dominant player.
Of course he is a trained professional with a hard science/engineering background (and was in fact a NASA engineer way back in the 1960s), so none of your comments really apply.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Tito, don't forget to take the towels from the bathroom, empty the complimentary mini-bar and stock up on those little soaps. You paid for them, you deserve them.
Wordnik, a dictionary project which aims to collect
Anyone else see the irony in Russia being the first country start doing space tourism? Ahead of America, that bastion of the free market.
More power to the Russians.
Deleted
"...and it has been revealed that Tito was at the controls when the International Space Station collided with a Martian fishing vessel..."
~ radiographite: art by john shepard
Yeah, Yeah, I know he is rich and the Russians are poor etc...
However, I saw a picture of that old man looking like a kid with his first bike and for some reason it made me feel good.
Good for him.
Bitcoin pyramid: Join here: http://www.bitcoinpyramid.com/r/1427 it's FREE!
$20 million dollars.
Something that nobody is really discussing is how this man's life is going to be once he returns. Dennis Tito is going to be everywhere, he may be a millionaire, but he isn't an astronaut. The majority of humanity has more of what it takes to become a millionaire than an astrounaut anyday.
So think about it, the speaking tours, the talk shows, the morning news shows, the endorsements, it will be non-stop. Let's not forget the book deal about his ordeal. I am not saying that he did it for the fame, but he will be able to afford a lot more trips after he gets back.
I am going to open up a history book in ten years and see this man's name.
Just my 2 cents
It's nice that an old wealthy man can fulfill his dreams and be able to get into space.
I only hope this will catch on to high profile guys in Microsoft such as Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. A rocket with computers entirely runned and guided by Microsoft products would definitly convince them that a trip into space would just be worth all their money.
I bet these guys are actually so stupid that they would buy such a trip. This would be a memorable moment for the rest of the world. The inventors of the BSOD lost in space desperatly trying to reboot their computers.
//Pingo
--- Linux or FreeBSD, it's like blondes or brunettes. I like both. ---
He's buying a place in the history books, and he's also buying an opportunity to rub NASA's face in their own snobby arrogance concerning who is, and who is not qualified to go up into space.
Yes, space missions are hard, especially the likes we've had in the past. But there's no reason we can't enter a new era where the physical and mental demands on the space traveller aren't much less severe than they've been.
Space tourism is going to be a boon to the industry and Tito is going to demonstrate that.
Actually, Nasa wanted to put a two day delay on it because on Tuesday and Wednesday there were some computers mysteriously going offline, meaning that the shuttle was going to have to be docked for longer than expected. They needed Russian concurrence to actually make that happen. So it's not really the "big bad NASA", it's just that the Russians didn't agree that there would be a scheduling problem with the docking because Tito's capsule isn't supposed to dock at the station until Monday, which _should_ give NASA enough time to fix the problem and free up the docking bay. On the other hand, if that isn't enough time, they can always hang around waiting for NASA to finish work on the computers -- I'm sure Tito won't object to the extra time in space, and Russia would love the exposure this would give to space tourism.
Sure Tito, but what about Michael, Janet and the rest of them? Can't we send them *ALL* into space?
Chaos, Mayhem, and Destruction: Not
but then, isn't it funny how an American has to go to Russia to make fulfill his own lifelong dream? You'd think that his dream of going up in space would be more reachable here in the U.S. than anywhere else. Ok, Ok, so if he wasn't in the U.S., he wouldn't have been able to make himself the millions that he needed to make this happen...but still, just seems very ironic to me.
Station Alpha actually *WAS* designed with science in mind, as well as being a stepping stone to future misisons.
Anybody who aruges otherwise simply has no clue what it was designed for to begin with. Contrary to popular belief, Alpha was designed to house several lab modules- from the United States, Japan, Russia, and the ESA to name a few. The fact that they aren't in orbit yet is the only real argument that can be made.
I suppose it never occurs to many that a great many of the research projects in Alpha are related to human physiology, and how it reacts in space. Such as finding how to reduce or eliminate the loss of bone density while in space, microgravity orientation, heart and nervous system changes-
Not to mention the myriad of other technologies that are being put to the test - such as a VR robot that will take the place of a human spacewalk- extension of this technology, when fully developed, will allow remote sugery from anywhere in the world.
Air filtration, water purification, waste removal and disposal- also vital bits of science that Alpha is already experimenting with, and have very clear ramifications on earth- the time is not far off that it will be clean water that is more precious and sought after than oil. Being able to purify water from sewage at low cost is vital. Air filtration is already becoming an important issue in many metropolitan areas.
And, of course, there's launch costs - the single most expensive aspect of spaceflight. Dealing with Alpha requires the development of ever-more inexpensive methods of launching cargo into orbit.
And, lastly- whatever the environmentalists say about saving the Earth doesn't matter; even if all pollution was immediately stopped, mankind would be doomed in a few centuries anyway - humanity simply cannot support itself on the resources of Earth alone. Its population is already considered too large for the earth to support - and the human population is growing rapidply.
I find it unsettling that Slashdotters have the mentality of 'free or die' and 'bad, bad profit-mongers!' and still end up saying "You can't fund such a project unless you can be sure you will make a profit" - This amounts to arguing that the government should fund Microsoft's researchers, then letting Microsoft sell the results of the government sponsored research be sold, with exclusive rights going to MS.
It's a solid fact (US. Treasury statistic) that for each and every dollar spent on the space program - NASA, or otherwise, the government gets over seven dollars' worth of research, and actual worth in return, making the space program the most 'profitable' of anything any government has done.
Station Alpha is about serious work; some is done in space - the majority is done on Earth. There really is nothing political about Alpha, save that NASA has to convince several of the world's governments that it is a worthwhile effort. The fact that NASA launched and built most of the station is one reason why NASA gets so much of a say as to what happens there. Italy, for example, wants to add its own hab/science modules to Alpha - and if/when they do, they get rights to whatever happens in their module. The current state of Alpha is really no different; tito is allowed in the 'international' secions of the station, and not the modules considered 'US Owned.'
NASA's primary concern was always the timescale - it's just too dangerous, espescially with the current computer problems Alpha is having. It's also a rather well-documented case that the Russians have historically been far more cavalier about safety than the US is-- sometimes to the point of recklessness. Much of the conflict is NASA's safety policies clashing with Russia's.
MIR nearly killed its crew a great many times. NASA doesn't want to make the same mistakes, or have the same problems.
-- Sometimes you have to turn the lights off in order to see.
That having been said, I'd give my left testicle to go into space. That'd be so cool... Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait for the flying cars and stuff to take me. :(
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The "oh space is too important to be left to the hands of non-NASA people" is just grating. If you want large scale exploration of space, you need the big corporations and rich people, whether you like them or not. (Or you can let U.Sam tax you to bits to fund regular Mars missions)
Ironic, that NASA, a creation of a nation which espouses capitalism, would complained about the historic milestone in the commercialization of space. I would have expected them to welcome Tito with open arms and maybe fund a few of their own tourists. Imagine the extra flights they could have made to build the ISS.
Anyway, about the "dangers" of civilians breaking things : that didn't stop the submarines commanders to let civilians sit in consoles during a mock emergency surfacing drill. Of which I believe, is so much more dangerous letting some guy who is at least trained to float around a mostly automated station.
Mode (3) smart-aleck mode. Press * to return to main menu.
I hope he's savoring this trip for $20 million worth of memories. Don't forget, there is a cheaper version of space tourism on the horizon, too.
When it comes to space exploration, I think of Russia (USSR) and the United States as the countries that have actually done anything fairly significant outside of our atmostphere. The idea that Japanese companies are going to form some group to take untrained humans into space for 3 days and $26000 seems quite far-fetched.
If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
hehe they have to, what region are they in?
hold on comrad we just came over the US, we need to change disks and players back to region one. Sirgi put the player from japan back in the locker......
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Does anyone actually have a Java program designed to control air traffic, or for the operation of a nuclear facility?
Tito's trip: $20 million
The rocket: $5 million
The look on Dan Goldin's face: priceless!
-WolfWithoutAClause
"Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"Comment removed based on user account deletion
This is an important step to the impending and necessary privatization of space exploration. This and the Xprize contest are important steps to the entry of privately funded efforts in space exploration. When that happens, the pace of development will, well, skyrocket! Our government has been at this for over 30 years and they're just now building their second space station and they need other countries' assistance to do it. They've been in an insufferable rut of short run shuttle missons for almost 20 of those years. If humanity's ambitions for space travel are left to the whims of Congressional budgetary discretion, we will be in for a long wait.
Stop the use of force!
This is not Disney Land he's going to, but a space station devoted to serious work. What benefit to mankind is he performing up there, checking to see if his CD player spins right in zero G? All he's getting is a place in the history books and getting in the way of the planet's business for a week.
I'm all for Space tourism, but this is not the place for him to be. If we are to get into the business of space tourism, then a platform for that purpose needs to be put up there. I'm sure more people would be willing to pay if you had an airtight cabin with a bed and plumbing that people could just go up to for a few days so they can have their joy at saying they went up.
At any rate, what does disturb me is that the ISS is being "zoned" and that at one point he was not being allowed into the American module. Either he goes up or he doesn't go up. If NASA had objections, they should have stuck by them, otherwise it's just a circus act. And the Russians have taken Tito's money to send him up, but it's their money; how much of that $20mil goes to the other nations of the ISS? Is this an new economic sphere in orbit? Will we see anarchist protest groups storming the space station from the Rainbow Warrior II space capsule to speak out against space commercialism?
"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart, he dreams himself your master."
What I want to know is, if Tito is allowed to take his CD player into space, why do I have to turn off my palm pilot during takeoff?
Bryguy
microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
The Dennis Tito ISS landing was nothing more than an elaborate hoax! He's resting comfortably in a movie studio in Roswell, NM right now!
-atrowe: Card-carrying Mensa member. I have no toleranse for stupidity.
Life is like a web application. Sometime you need cookies just to get by.
What really galls me about this whole episode is how NASA tried to put the kibosh on it. This from an organization that allowed itself to be used by Jake Garn and John Glenn for what amounted to space junkets for Senators. If NASA was smart, they'd be selling seats to generate some revenue. But noooooooo, they're too high-minded for that. </rant>
perhaps they would get off their high horse and look for alternate funding as well. The Russians did a heck of a job finding some VC money in a tough market .
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
"So this cd player, first bootleg music on ISS?
I can see tito with napster, a burner and a list of tracks from 2001."
Actually, there are already illegal (as per the DMCA and by applying the DeCSS case) DVD players on the ISS... They have region-free players that will play any disc.
=== The price of freedom is eternal vigilance
Musabayev, Baturin and Tito - hence a hypothetical other third crew member, had the latter not flown - are only staying a week or so. They are on a "taxi mission", to change the Soyuz lifeboat, which is only certified for six months in space. You can't lose much more than a few days' worth of research.
It seems to me that the majority of the people that ride the shuttle into space since its inception aren't "real astronauts" in the Right Stuff sense. So what? The only difference between this guy and anyone else that has ridden into space is that he *paid* for his seat and he's there as a tourist and not as a researcher.
So, NASA bitches and moans about how this guy might get in the way because he's not a "trained astronaut." So what? NASA has a well established background of sending non-astronauts into space anyway. Recall the challenger incident? McAuliffe's *only* real purpose of being on that mission was for PR. She was going to teach a few classes to her students from space.
Aw bullshit.
First off, Tito isn't some moron who doesn't knew his ass from a hole in the ground.
Second, comparing this to your electronics course is rediculous; you people were *told* to mess around and push the pretty buttons. It was part of the course. AND, nobody thought pushing a button was going to kill people and cost billions of dollars.
Sheesh.
Now, if you're referring to possible future space tourism, it's just as rediculous. Airplanes have all sorts of potentially dangerous pretty buttons. Do passengers cause crashes? No! They aren't allowed to play in the cockpit. Obviously, before space tourism takes off, the space station or whatever has to be designed with that in mind. A place for pilots and such, and a place for tourists. Simple.
Do you really think that your average joe is so incredibly stupid as to run around a multi-billion dollar craft where he isn't allowed, pushing buttons at random? Do you really think the 'De-orbit' button is some big red thing labeled 'Push Me!'? Come on...
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Damn it Jim, that's my sphincter, not a jelly donut!!!
There have been a few misguided statements here, so hey-
Astronauts, regardless of NASA's instructions, should have no need to babysit Mr. Tito. Tito was a spaceflight engineer during the salad days of the sixties before turning to business, and has undergone nine months of Russian training. It is possible, of course, that this is insufficient. But NASA's current stand appears to be that no set of qualifications to board the station, other than being a 'professional', exists- a haphazard and arrogant approach that won't serve for an international station. So three years from now, the Italians want to fly a scientist who NASA thinks is underqualified- are we back in the same debacle? Standards would be quite easy to determine.
NASA doesn't have unilateral authority to control who goes on the station. We don't have sole ownership, you see. The rather poorly defined treaty structure and the act of including a cash-strapped, aging Russian space program on the critical path to the station were probably bad ideas- but at any rate, we made the deals; they read 'do such and such, you get so many crew members for so much time.' If we wanted dictatorial control over the thing, we should have build it ourselves. Congress wasn't prepared to pay for that and various parts of the government wanted to make the station a tool of international diplomacy. That's fine- but then you don't get everything you want.
The Russians are giving up a substantial chance to do science and engineering research; the operation of the station isn't expected to be delayed despite being a crewman short, as it were, for months... Doesn't this suggest something? The one objection NASA hasn't been able to raise is that the station is being put to much waste, because the station has so little utility in the first place!
The sad truth is that the station is a debacle, a plan first drafted in the early 1980's that has gotten progressively less and less useful ever since. We've built an enormous, expensive platform to conduct rather vaguely defined research that could have been accomplished much more easily in any number of ways- because the goal, really, that NASA set themselves was to build a station, regardless of what use it was. To my mind, low-earth-orbit station building and tourist launches are essentially ready to be a commercial enterprise; but the entire space industry is tied up in a NASA-oriented mindset, and alternative ventures can't find the capital to get off the ground, as it were. NASA's role for the US isn't control-of-all-activities-in-space; it's groundbreaking research to enable the use of space by others.
One might add that space flights have been sold to civilians previously, by both NASA and the Soviets, John Glenn being only the most recent example; up until Sharon Christa McAuliffe and Challenger, it was an almost common practice. [And understand, I mean to cast no aspersions whatsoever on her memory.] It's just that they were sold for political influence or publicity or other such prices, and so could be semi-concealed.
Enough rant already. For more along these lines, visit the Space Frontier Foundation. I don't always agree with the SFF- I think they have too much faith in the virtues of capitalism- but they understand very well which businesses NASA should and shouldn't be in.
I'm so glad that Tito made it, for a while it looked like the US was going to try to block him. I'm sick of the stranglehold that NASA has had on space travel, this sets a precedent for us normal people to get up there someday.
"A witty saying proves nothing." - Voltaire