First space tourist 10 years on

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Ten years ago, US multi-millionaire Dennis Tito became the world's first-ever space tourist.

He is said to have paid $20m for his eight days in space.

Mr Tito blasted off on 28 April 2001, but only after a struggle to get anyone to take him - the US space agency Nasa refused on the grounds that he was not a trained astronaut, so it was the Russians who facilitated the trip.

To date, only six people have followed in his footsteps - paying for a ticket to orbit in space.

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But 10 years on, the lure of making space tourism more accessible to the masses is just as strong.

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Edited April 30, 2011 by Waspie_Dwarf
typo.

[paul the walrus]

He should be proud and tell some of the people in this world who are starving to death "HEY LOOK AT ME, I WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH/STRONG ENOUGH TO BE AN ASTRONAUT SO I PAID 20 MILLION TO GO!" What a waste, just imagine the good he could have done with this money, karma is gonna catch up with this guy I hope.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

He should be proud and tell some of the people in this world who are starving to death "HEY LOOK AT ME, I WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH/STRONG ENOUGH TO BE AN ASTRONAUT SO I PAID 20 MILLION TO GO!"

Except he had to pass all the same tests that any non-paying scientist from outside the cosmonaut corps would have to taken in order to fly, so he WAS good enough and strong enough to be a cosmonaut(Daisuke Enomoto of Japan, despite having the money in place, failed the medicals and was grounded).

What a waste, just imagine the good he could have done with this money, karma is gonna catch up with this guy I hope.

I take it you own no luxuries, and give every penny you don't actually need to charity. I take it you never take holidays. If not don't you think you are being a little hypocritical? It is not just the rich that can do good with their money. He earned his money, he pays his taxes, he like everyone else, has the right to do with it as he pleases.

He didn't just go along for the ride. He (like the other so called tourists) conducted experiments whilst on board the ISS. The $20 million was also used to help support the Russian space programme at a time when it was in financial difficulty, helping the Russians to fulfil their obligations to there international partners and conduct the worthwhile scientific research. The Russians have never refereed to Tito and his fellow paying cosmonauts as tourists, they use the term "spaceflight participants".

[BlazzedAzz]

one man who gets to see my kind of point of view.as an outsider

[paul the walrus]

I take it you own no luxuries, and give every penny you don't actually need to charity. I take it you never take holidays. If not don't you think you are being a little hypocritical?

That statement is a joke, I have never and will never spend 20 million dollars on a vacation. Anyone who does needs a reality check and should feel guilty for taking so much for themselves.

It is not just the rich that can do good with their money. He earned his money, he pays his taxes, he like everyone else, has the right to do with it as he pleases.

Sure, he has the right to do what ever he pleases with his 20 million, too bad he was so selfish that just he spent it all on a vacation. Again, imagine if this guy had a heart or cared about people, he could have made a real difference in this world.

Paulrus the Walrus

Edited May 1, 2011 by paul the walrus

[mktexan]

I completely disagree with you Paul. If men did not have goals then we would still be hunting wild animals and living in caves. The fact that he accomplished his goal of going into space and never gave up on it is amazing. It shows that a human can do anything when their mind is set on it. Good for him! Who cares if he didn't feed the starving children of Africa with that money? These problems will never go away until the corruption in world politics is destroyed.

[Timothy]

That statement is a joke, I have never and will never spend 20 million dollars on a vacation. Anyone who does needs a reality check and should feel guilty for taking so much for themselves.

It's all relative, I'm sure there are people out there who would think that you live a life of greed and guilt, although you probably don't.

Sure, he has the right to do what ever he pleases with his 20 million, too bad he was so selfish that just he spent it all on a vacation. Again, imagine if this guy had a heart or cared about people, he could have made a real difference in this world.

Paulrus the Walrus

The thing is we don't know what kind of man he is. Sure we can critisize, 20 million is a lot of money to most people and it's easy to say he is selfish. But also he could be a very giving and good person...