US Millionaire becomes the third space tourist

US Millionaire becomes the third space tourist
''I would hope that my flight would help if just to make space flight more routine'' was what the US millionaire scientist Gregory Olsen had to say just before shooting off on a Russian Soyuz rocket along with a two-member Russian-American crew on a two-day expedition towards the international space station.

“I would hope that my flight would help if just to make space flight more routine" was what the US millionaire scientist Gregory Olsen had to say just before shooting off on a Russian Soyuz rocket along with a two-member Russian-American crew on a two-day expedition towards the international space station.

The US and Russian space officials as well as the near and dear ones of the crew were present in the nearby viewing platform as the rocket took off from the Baikonur space center in the Central Asian Steppes in Kazakhstan leaving a trail of yellow and pink flames in the blue firmament. Ten minutes later, as the Russian mission control announced that the rocket has reached the designated orbit, a huge cheer from the people in the platform greeted the news.

The multi millionaire Olsen, who also has degrees in physics and material science, has reportedly paid a staggering 20 million dollars to be a part of the Expedition 12 flight and is accompanied by Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev and US astronaut William McArthur in this journey. He is the third space tourist to visit the station, preceded by American Dennis Tito in 2001 and South African Mark Shuttleworth in 2002.

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However, the future of such joint missions seems bleak after NASA's official warning that Russia's demands for payment could eventually stop US participation. The cash strapped Russian Federal Space Agency is eyeing at these types of space expeditions which can very well become a source of earning money for them. Till now they have carried US space tourists for free but are thinking of charging NASA from the end of this year.

However, Olsen defended his presence on the Russian-American expedition as a necessary step in the evolution of space flight. He also added that he is making the journey with some definite purpose and plans to test a few of the instruments made by his company which manufactures electronic sensors for military and civilian use.

McArthur and Takarev will be on the space station for the next six months, replacing Russian Sergei Krikalev and American John Phillips, who will return to Kazakh steppes on October 11 along with Olsen.