Dennis Tito, the world鈥檚 first space tourist, says he hopes his $20m trip to the International Space Station will improve relations between NASA and the Russian space agency, Rosaviakosmos.
鈥淭his will be a positive thing for the ISS and a positive step in relations between NASA and Rosaviakosmos,鈥� he told reporters in Moscow on 8 May. Tito returned to Earth on 6 May, after eight days in space.
However, NASA might not agree. The Russian space agency鈥檚 determination to go ahead with Tito鈥檚 trip provoked an embarrassing disagreement between the two major ISS players. NASA officially agreed to the visit only days before Tito blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 28 April.
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NASA officials said they were concerned that Tito鈥檚 presence would hamper the work of the professional astronauts on board.
But Tito told reporters that anyone who wants to fly into space, and who has the money to pay for the trip, should begin training immediately.
鈥淚 hope NASA realises that a qualified civilian should be able to fly,鈥� he said.
The trip had been the culmination of a lifetime ambition, he added. 鈥淚 have lived two lives. Sixty years on Earth and eight days in space. From my viewpoint it was two separate lives.鈥�