Alpha partners to discuss space tourist standoff

Dennis Tito

MOSCOW -- Whether Dennis Tito becomes the first tourist in space could be decided this week, as space agencies from across the world meet to discuss whether he should fly to the international space station.

Tito, 60, is preparing to ride with two cosmonauts aboard a Russian spacecraft to the space station Alpha. The California tycoon paid $20 million for the weeklong trip, which is scheduled to begin at the end of the month.

Moscow insists Tito, who trained almost a year with cosmonauts, will be on the Soyuz rocket ship. International agreements seem to give the cash-strapped Russian space agency complete control over who flies on the craft.

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But the United States, the leading partner in the 16-nation consortium building Alpha, has argued that Tito lacks the training or Russian language skills to ensure his safety or that of the crews of the space station and the Soyuz.

Space officials from the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe will hold a teleconference on Tuesday in hopes of ending the standoff.

NASA, upset that the Russians arranged the deal without the input of other space station partners, hopes to convince Moscow to at least postpone Tito's trip until October so he can train on U.S. space station systems.

A NASA space center in Texas denied Tito entrance some weeks ago to a short training program attended by his cosmonaut crewmates Talgat Musabayev and Yuri Baturin.

Tito, a former NASA rocket scientist, is scheduled to arrive at the Baikonur cosmodrome in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan on Monday, along with Musabayev and Baturin, said Russian Aerospace Agency spokesman Konstantin Kreidenko.

The three would have a final fitting of their individually tailored space suits, he said. After the check, Tito and his crewmates will return to the Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City outside Moscow and travel to Baikonur on April 23 for final launch preparations.

Russia agreed to supply Alpha every six months with a fresh Soyuz spacecraft, which serve as emergency lifeboats. Musabayev, Baturin and presumably Tito will leave their Soyuz at Alpha and return with one already docked to the orbiting outpost.

Meanwhile, NASA is preparing for a Thursday launch of space shuttle Endeavour on a space station construction mission. Tito's Soyuz rocket is scheduled to lift off on April 28, the same day Endeavour is supposed to leave the station. For technical reasons, the shuttle and Soyuz cannot dock at the same time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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International space station Alpha

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