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Third 'Space Tourist' Blasts Off Into Space

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the pricetags-that-make-you-wince dept.

auckland map writes "A Russian Soyuz rocket has lifted off from the Central Asian steppes, launching U.S. millionaire scientist Gregory Olsen and a new Russian-U.S. crew on a two-day journey to the international space station. Olsen is reportedly paying $20 million for this trip." From the article: "The cash-strapped Russian Federal Space Agency has turned to space tourism to generate money. Olsen is the third non-astronaut to visit the orbiting station. California businessman Dennis Tito paid about $20 million for a week long trip to the space station in 2001, and South African Mark Shuttleworth followed a year later."

53 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. For a mere $10 million... by physicsphairy · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...I am willing to offer a one year tour around a nearby star, getting at a distance of about 1 AU. To maintain the comforts of gravity and atmosphere, I have identified a suitable location on a nearby planet. The external atmosphere contains mild contaminants, however, should be quite breathable. A mass particle transport utility shall be provided upon receipt of first half of my requested sum.

    --
    When things get complex, multiply by the complex conjugate.
    1. Re:For a mere $10 million... by moviepig.com · · Score: 4, Funny
      ...I am willing to offer a one year tour around a nearby star

      Time-travel (1 year forward, at a comfortable rate) included at no extra charge...

      --
      Seeing bad movies only encourages them. Watch responsibly
  2. If the moon landings were faked by zappepcs · · Score: 3, Funny

    Does that mean these guys are being drugged, shown a couple of movies for a week, and released having been fleeced of their millions? If that's true, I'm sure these Russian space guys will get hired by Hollywood...

    If they could just get us to believe that file sharing is wrong?

    --
    Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
    1. Re:If the moon landings were faked by JohnnyNoSPAM · · Score: 3, Funny

      "If the moon landings were faked" Do not try and land on the moon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth: There is no moon. :-P

      --
      Get some.
  3. $20 Million? by Nuclear+Elephant · · Score: 3, Funny

    Olsen is reportedly paying $20 million for this trip.

    Big deal. It costs me about that much to commute too these days.

    1. Re:$20 Million? by heavy+snowfall · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ...businessman Dennis Titor paid about $20 million for a week long trip to the..

      --
      The ten best Palm apps

    2. Re:$20 Million? by xouumalperxe · · Score: 1

      India? Pakistan? phooey! What about Hyrule?

    3. Re:$20 Million? by sunwolf · · Score: 1

      What do you drive, a Hummer? I feel for you, bro. Six miles on the gallon? Like hell. More like six miles on the tank, with a down payment.

      Friend: Hey man, you wanna come see my new bigscreen?
      Me: Fuck you man, I ain't biking that far.

    4. Re:$20 Million? by bcmm · · Score: 1

      Insightful?
      Funny, idiots.
      Why do you two get mod points, and I don't anymore...

      --
      # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
      Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
  4. Smart guy by evil+agent · · Score: 5, Interesting
    According to Dr. Gregory Olsen's bio, his company has been developing optoelectronic devices and that "This cutting edge camera technology is revolutionizing detection capabilities and providing reliable, high performance products used for a variety of critical military, national security, telecommunications and industrial applications such as covert surveillance, machine vision, night vision, health and safety protocols, historical art inspection and many others."

    Perhaps we shouldn't have let this guy get too acquainted with the Russians...

    --
    End transmission.
    1. Re:Smart guy by twiddlingbits · · Score: 1

      The Russians are OK, If he was flying with the Chinese THEN we worry. I suspect there would be a "horrible accident" and Dr. Olsen would be killed (i.e. disappear until they could get all the technology secrets from him).

    2. Re:Smart guy by timeOday · · Score: 1
      I think the Russians will sell the Chinese whatever they want:
      Where does China turn when it shops for military weapons? In a word, Russia. According to the Russian Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), China constitutes the largest single importer of post-Soviet Russian arms and military equipment, with purchases ranging between 30% and 50% of Russia's entire annual deliveries.

      Without those arms exports to China, Russia would lack the funds to modernize its own military. In fact, in the past Russia has prohibited the export of certain of its military aircraft, or production licenses, to China only to revoke the ban later on.

    3. Re:Smart guy by twiddlingbits · · Score: 1

      I don't doubt the Russians would sell their Grandmother to who ever had the money. But the Chinese could cut out the middle man and get it for nothing if they had Dr Olsen. Of course getting it for nothing is just good business for the "Chinese Capitalists";) They also then might have something better than what the Russkies offer which of course they would sell/trade back.

  5. "Don't call him a space tourist" by brian.glanz · · Score: 4, Informative
    "Don't call him a space tourist" as Alan Boyle says.

    Let's say scientist, engineer, inventor, or maybe inspiration (his bio at his company's site).

    1. Re:"Don't call him a space tourist" by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 1

      He's a guy who paid $20 million to get into space. That's a tourist.

    2. Re:"Don't call him a space tourist" by brian.glanz · · Score: 4, Informative
      "Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. A tourist is someone who travels at least fifty miles from home, as defined by the World Tourism Organization (a United Nations body)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourist

      50 miles: check.

      recreation: not so much, no.

      Olsen paid for access to a laboratory in which he will study things he could not anywhere else, such as crystal growth and infrared imaging sensor performance. Even during the two-day Soyuz journey to the ISS, Olsen is operating some oxygen systems and filling other small but necessary roles. He's spent the last several months training more as a member of the crew, even learning Russian (mandatory). He is not just along for the ride.

      Sounds like a great holiday to me, but as a matter of respect and perhaps even by definition, I would not call him a tourist.

    3. Re:"Don't call him a space tourist" by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 1

      Bullshit. He's contriving some experiments - some of which are irrelevant to his work, some that can be done on earth, and some of which have well known results. He's there because he wants to be there, period, not because he needs to be. That's pleasure, not business. A tourist.

    4. Re:"Don't call him a space tourist" by AAeyers · · Score: 1

      recreation: not so much, no.

      You don't call floating around in zero gravity recreation? Sounds like a good time to me...

      --
      "For Great Justice."
    5. Re:"Don't call him a space tourist" by ZachPruckowski · · Score: 1

      It is a business venture if it can be reasonably expected to turn a profit. If he could pay NASA or Russia to do the experiments for less, then this is not the wisest business venture. If he really expects to make in excess of $20 million off these experiments (and he'd prolly have to fight for the patent, since he did it in an international lab), it's business, otherwise it's at least partially pleasure.

      Oh, and all those guys who go to Hawaii or Las Vegas for business conferences and spend half the time in casinos or clubs or on the beach? Yeah, it may be for business, and may even be worthwhile from an economic point of view, but they're still tourists.

  6. You would have thought....... by reality-bytes · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You would think that any manned spaced launch (and many unmanned ones) would be important News for Nerds wouldn't you?

    Still, this story hits the front page about 17 hours after the launch.

    I did know it was going but perhaps some would have watched on TV if they knew the launch was taking place ie: Slashdot could run a story *beforehand*.

    For those of you who missed the live video, the footage was excellent, gorgeous steady tracking footage was provided by a telescope mounted camera followed by live in-capsule footage right through all the stage burnouts (never seen *live* interior shots on a shuttle launch) and then about 15 mins of on-orbit initial operations footage. I thoroughly recommend watching the live feed for the Exp 13 launch.

    Plus the crew had a cool little troll (the little plastic ones) on a bungee to show the capsules movements on orbit.

    --
    Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
    1. Re:You would have thought....... by Torinir · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "Plus the crew had a cool little troll (the little plastic ones) on a bungee to show the capsules movements on orbit."

      Too bad some of the /. trolls couldn't have been taken up into orbit too... and jettisoned.

      Hmmm... that's actually an idea...

      Someone loan me $20m. :D

    2. Re:You would have thought....... by khallow · · Score: 1

      I learned long ago to deal with the news lag from slashdot. You shouldn't read slashdot, if timeliness is the most important reason for reading news (well, the comments from posters can actually be very timely even for an old story). 17 hours actually isn't bad.

    3. Re:You would have thought....... by jafac · · Score: 1

      It doesn't really make much sense to attempt to "predict" launches. Very seldom do they happen at the time they're originally planned. If it's not a delay caused by equipment malfunction in any one of the thousands of complex components of the vehicle, or ground support, it's weather.

      More than once, I've driven out to Vandenberg in the middle of the night to watch a launch, and ended up having to go home disappointed. Spacelaunch is not a spectator sport! (though, when you get lucky, they're great to watch).
      About two years ago, I drove down for the ICESAT/CHIPSAT launch. It was delayed for about an hour, so I waited, and a marine layer rolled in off the sea. When the launch happened, I saw about the first 10 seconds of the flight before it disappeared. I got home, and my wife, who was watching from the front yard saw the whole thing clear as day.

      I'm staying home for Monday's Delta IV launch.

      --

      These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
    4. Re:You would have thought....... by FleaPlus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You would think that any manned spaced launch (and many unmanned ones) would be important News for Nerds wouldn't you?

      As an avid space enthusiast, I personally look forward to the day that a manned space launch is just as unremarkable and routine as a manned air launch.

    5. Re:You would have thought....... by lw54 · · Score: 1
      Still, this story hits the front page about 17 hours after the launch.

      Just wait a few months and you can comment how old this will be on the second, third, fourth and fifth time the story hits our frontpage.

      In the 6 years I've been here, I'm pretty sure this is the first time a story was actually posted within 24-hours of the event.

  7. cliches that never grow old by khallow · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Google reports 1040 hits of "cash-strapped" near "Russian space agency". I don't intend to add great insight here, but in today's sophisticated capitalist societies, there must be other synonyms much as the Eskimos supposedly had 40 words for snow.

    1. Re:cliches that never grow old by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Good point. NASA wouldn't be letting Hubble whither if it was not also "cash-strapped". The Russians are being good entreprenurers, not "cash-strapped". They are better capitalists than we are. Perhaps the author is jealous.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    2. Re:cliches that never grow old by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Not to mention the Russians latest export venture, selling Soyuz space capsules to a country unable to fund the research and development of its own space craft...The United States (link).

    3. Re:cliches that never grow old by khallow · · Score: 1
      Perhaps the author is jealous.

      More likely, the cited journalist is lazy. It's a mystery to me how these cliches linger. It can't require that much brain power to shuffle some phrases around.

    4. Re:cliches that never grow old by khallow · · Score: 1

      Not even close. Then there's 253,000 hits for "GW Bush" failure.

    5. Re:cliches that never grow old by bbc · · Score: 1

      "Google reports 1040 hits [google.com] of "cash-strapped" near "Russian space agency". I don't intend to add great insight here, but in today's sophisticated capitalist societies, there must be other synonyms much as the Eskimos supposedly had 40 words for snow."

      You're asking quite a lot from our imagination strapped journalist brethern.

  8. The interesting thing is: by Guardian+of+Terra · · Score: 1

    Now, when we have American in orbit, we can take more aggresive stance towards payments-for-flights. We could not do that day ago because we could've scared him off, running away from Baikonur :) "We will also discuss compensation for McArthur's return because formally speaking we don't have any such obligation, either."

  9. Proud of the Russians by bogaboga · · Score: 4, Insightful
    > "The cash-strapped Russian Federal Space Agency has turned to space tourism to generate money."

    "...Meanwhile, the American cash filled Space Agency (NASA) is still unable to put men into space...even after billions of dollars have been spent!"

    To me, we Americans still do not get it! Clearly, of the two space agencies, one of them is doing or getting it right. Can we say it is we the Americans? I doubt, but stand to be corrected.

    1. Re:Proud of the Russians by delphi125 · · Score: 1

      To me, you are a troll.

      NASA does put people in to space. It is a risky business, but the risk is no more or less with the Russians, statistically speaking.

      I'm not saying NASA is perfect, by any means. I'm not an American either. But your rhetoric is just wrong.

    2. Re:Proud of the Russians by Bonhamme+Richard · · Score: 1
      "Cash filled Space Agency" and NASA in the same sentence?

      1965 NASA budget: 5 billion (rough 28 billion in todays $$)

      2006 NASA budget: 16 billion

      In 1965, NASA was only concerned with putting a man on the moom.

      Today, NASA is working (all at the same time, mind you) towards:

      Putting a man on Mars.

      Sending dozens of rovers to Mars.

      Putting satellites in orbit over Moons of the Gas giants.

      Continue operation of objects leaving the Solar System.

      And about a dozen other operations and projects of varying importance that I, as an uninterested outsider have no knowledge of.

      So NASA is working on a considerately smaller budget than it was during the space race, and does much more.

      A little research has giving me a budget for the RKA of just under 1 billion (900 million) but I'm unaware of any Russian space efforts beyond basic earth orbit. How many Mars landers do they have?

    3. Re:Proud of the Russians by tftp · · Score: 2, Informative
      The RKA only builds rockets and LEO spaceships, it does not really manufacture or manage satellites and probes. In USA, for example, JPL does most of the satellite work, along with the private sector, so this division of labor is not out of the ordinary.

      In Russia, space science is done by the Academy of Sciences, as you can see at the IKI Web Site, for example. Communications satellites are done by other organizations, civilian as well as military.

      With regard to your question, the list of current and future projects that are managed by IKI is on that Web page, with English translations in most cases. Here is an example of one of the projects.

    4. Re:Proud of the Russians by SpinyNorman · · Score: 1

      In addition to "basic earth orbit" capability (i.e. all the records that Mir holds), the Russians also explored the moon with a series of robotic rovers (google for "lunakhod"), and even retrieved lunar samples back to earth via robotic unmanned missions (call me when NASA achieves this). The Russians are also the only country to have a probe land on Venus and take photos of the searingly hot surface.

      Oh yeah, and let's not forget that the Russians are the ones keeping the ISS alive via regular trips by robotic supply craft (a capability the US doesn't have), not to mention that they have a *safe* way to get people there *and* back, and that their costs of doing so are a fraction of the shuttle which despite being an impressive technical achievement is a disaster in terms of meeting it's operational and cost goals. Finally, before you say "yeah, well at least the US can build a shuttle", perhaps you should first google for "buran" - the Russian shuttle that, yet again unmanned, was able to take off, orbit the earth and land without any loss of tiles, before the project was scrapped due to lack of funds.

  10. Schools will get to talk to Olsen via ham radio by leighklotz · · Score: 2, Informative
    According to the ARRL, two schools will get to talk to Greg Olsen (KC2ONX) via ham radio:
    Onboard the Soyuz transporter will be Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev and space tourist Greg Olsen, KC2ONX, of Princeton, New Jersey. ... While in space, Olsen plans to conduct Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school group QSOs with two schools in New Jersey and one in New York. Following joint crew operations, Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev, Flight Engineer John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Olsen are scheduled to return to Earth October 10 in the Soyuz vehicle now docked at the ISS.

  11. Re:How long does he get to stay up there? by tftp · · Score: 2, Informative
    It costs $3,750.00 + Tax, as long as you are in Florida. Add some tickets to and from if you are elsewhere.

    http://www.zerogcorp.com/Book/Bookaseat.aspx

  12. Re:Get your tourist ass off my space station by FleaPlus · · Score: 1



    Since the Russians are the only country currently capable of bringing crew and cargo to and from the space station, I think they have the right to put whoever they damn well please in their crew.

  13. Live webcasts from Space Station by FleaPlus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    According to the site for Sensors Unlimited (Olsen's company), Dr. Gregory Olsen will be doing a number of live webcasts from the International Space Station, from October 3-7.

  14. Seems a bit different in Kazakhstan by reality-bytes · · Score: 2, Informative

    The last three manned launches from Baikonur I watched live (Exp 10, 11, 12)

    They went on time as advertised (Exp 12 actually launched in 'moderate' weather).

    Now I fully understand the reason, the Shuttle has to be 'just right' to launch because there are very few abort options whereas the Soyuz can be (and has been) aborted in most if not all stages of flight.

    Certainly, if it was a Shuttle Launch, you could say that any pre-advertised launch could be raising false hopes but a Soyuz cancellation is 'unusual' these days.

    --
    Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
    1. Re:Seems a bit different in Kazakhstan by AaronLawrence · · Score: 1

      If only you had been able to watch the Buran launch! Although the weather looked pretty miserable.

      --
      For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Arthur C. Clarke
  15. non-astronaut?? by interactive_civilian · · Score: 3, Insightful
    From TFSummary:
    Olsen is the third non-astronaut to visit the orbiting station.
    Stop me if I am wrong, but doesn't "astronaut" mean "space traveler"? How does this make him a non-astronaut?

    Or is it because, since he went up with the Russians, he is a "Cosmonaut"?

    Seriously, this guy is going up there and doing some science, rather than just hanging out for the ride. He must have gone through some training in order to be able to go, regardless of the money he spent.

    So, unless by "non-astronaut" you mean "cosmonaut", you are insulting the man, rather unfairly IMHO.

    --
    "Empathise with stupidity, and you're halfway to thinking like an idiot." - Iain M. Banks
    1. Re:non-astronaut?? by pipingguy · · Score: 1


      The term, "Astronaut" implies (in most American's minds, probably) an ex-test pilot tough guy that has the "grit" and "balls" to do something risky.

  16. 'Third Space' tourist?! by heroicnonsense · · Score: 1

    Did anyone else read that wrong and thought he was a 'Third Space' tourist? Haven't we learned fron the ancient races?!

  17. He's not a tourist by TheLink · · Score: 1

    "He's contriving some experiments"

    Nonono. _He_ is the _experiment_.

    He's the third in a series of experiments. The first was the pioneering experiment involving Dennis Tito as test subject.

    These space experiments are probably more noteworthy and useful than any of those conducted by the NASA in recent years.

    NASA did the Mars probe thing decades ago. Now they're trying to do the moon thing again. When did NASA become a branch of Hollywood? ;).

    BTW, the test subject becomes a tourist if the newspapers/media don't talk about it. In which event the experiment is considered a success.

    The way people cheer and clap whenever the space shuttle takes off sure doesn't give me much confidence in it.

    --
    1. Re:He's not a tourist by Mr.+Underbridge · · Score: 1

      Then you've simply created a tautology, he's no less a tourist than my cat would be if I gave them $20M to take her in space. The difference between him and NASA is he didn't earn his spot there, he *bought* it. He's an unqualified person who bought a ticket somewhere. Tour-ist.

  18. Re:How long does he get to stay up there? by bbc · · Score: 1

    The launch of a Soyuz costs around 20M US$. Roskosmos is basically having Olsen pay for the entire flight. Still, that is pretty cheap. NASA will have to pay Energia (or whoever the operator is, that's not quite clear) 60M US$, and a tourist who wants to fly around the moon (that includes two Soyuz launches) pays 100M US$ to Space Adventures, an American company. The two launches for the moonflight are necessary to get the Soyuz-TMA to escape orbit.

  19. Re:Get your tourist ass off my space station by bbc · · Score: 1

    [snipped list of what bringing the Russians aboard has cost the US]

    It costs the Russians somewhere around 7M US$ to bring a NASA astrounaut to the ISS. It would have cost NASA ca. 71M US$ to do the same, if they only could manage to stop their flying bricks from blowing up every time the things need to do something more complicated than floating through the void. If anything, NASA has saved approximately 324M US$ since 2003 by taking the Russian route.

  20. cash strapped? russia are liars by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

    FACTs: Russia is increasing millitary spending by 30%+
    Russia is raking it in selling oil at huge profits.

    http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russi a/mo-budget.htm

    --
    Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  21. you forgot the one that didnt come back.... by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

    the lady teacher on challanger, that was #1.

    Also John Glenn in his 70s was hardly a prime modern astro. Make him a 1/2 tourist even though hes an oldschool astro.

    --
    Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  22. Re:Get your tourist ass off my space station by Skal+Tura · · Score: 1

    oh come on, don't be a jackass!

    For me it's the same pays for the violins, but if NASA did pay for russians to get their part done, big deal, the thing that matters is that they got it DONE!

    It fuels research & development, and remember: Russians are those who gets there cheap & reliable!
    It's very important to develop methods to get there cheaper.

    Besides, internation space station sounds neater x)

    To be serious, it brings the two countries closer together, and rest of the world, now to get ESA participating...

    --
    Pulsed Media Seedboxes