Third 'Space Tourist' Blasts Off Into Space

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."

Comments

For a mere $10 million...

[physicsphairy]

...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.

Re:For a mere $10 million...

[moviepig.com]

...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...

If the moon landings were faked

[zappepcs]

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?

Re:If the moon landings were faked

[JohnnyNoSPAM]

"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

$20 Million?

[Nuclear Elephant]

Olsen is reportedly paying $20 million for this trip.

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

Re:$20 Million?

[heavy snowfall]

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

--
The ten best Palm apps

Smart guy

[evil agent]

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...

"Don't call him a space tourist"

[brian.glanz]

"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).

Re:"Don't call him a space tourist"

[brian.glanz]

"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.

You would have thought.......

[reality-bytes]

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.

Re:You would have thought.......

[Torinir]

"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

Re:You would have thought.......

[FleaPlus]

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.

cliches that never grow old

[khallow]

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.

Proud of the Russians

[bogaboga]

> "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.

Re:Proud of the Russians

[tftp]

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.

Schools will get to talk to Olsen via ham radio

[leighklotz]

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.

Re:How long does he get to stay up there?

[tftp]

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

Live webcasts from Space Station

[FleaPlus]

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.

Seems a bit different in Kazakhstan

[reality-bytes]

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.

non-astronaut??

[interactive_civilian]

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.