The announcement by NASA and its European, Canadian and Japanese partners in the International Space Station (ISS) project means that Tito, 60, will blast off for Earth's new orbiter Saturday aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

"It's really hard for me to understand why" the US space agency objected to the trip, said a visibly-relieved Tito, who paid 20 million dollars for his space ticket and earlier in the week described himself as the "happiest man in the world."

"I think this flight will be very good for NASA," said Tito. "I think the ISS needs positive publicity. I think NASA ultimately will be very happy that I took this flight."

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration had opposed Tito's flight on safety grounds, while the Europeans cited poor timing.

Unofficially, however, Russia's space partners were concerned that cash-strapped Moscow would see the Tito flight as a precedent paving the way for more flights by rich people seeking the ultimate thrill and prepared to pay large amounts of money for it.

The original idea of selling Tito a ticket into space was devised as part of a doomed Russian effort to save the Soviet-era Mir space station, which was finally ditched in the Pacific last month.

Mir was destroyed after it became clear that Moscow lacked the money to finance both the old orbiter and its share of the work on ISS, whose construction has already been delayed by Russia's inability to meet deadlines.

But while Tito is now ready for blast-off, he is also likely to feature in a delicate diplomatic ballet in space.

NASA officials said Tito will spend most of his space station time in the Russian service module, and be escorted by one of the astronauts currently residing at the space station whenever he leaves that module.

Tito said he did not understand the decision, saying he posed no threat to his compatriots.

The retired space engineer added that the trip meant much more to him than just a chance to dangle his legs in outer space.

"It's not a holiday. This is the dream of my life," he told reporters at Kazakhstan's space center, which is rented by Moscow for space station mission launches.

"I am actually beginning a new career, so you could say it's an investment" in the future, he said.

Tito added that he hoped that other civilians would soon follow in his tracks.

"I would like to become involved in the profession of helping other people go to space, and enjoy the experience which I am about to enjoy."

But for most of his week-long stay, Tito conceded he would simply be happy to be taking pictures of Earth.

Russia has taken civilians to space before -- at the government's own expense -- but NASA's one attempt to do so ended in tragedy and a ban on the practice after the 1986 Challenger explosion killed six astronauts and a primary school teacher.

Tito says his own fascination with the stars dates from his viewing, in 1957, the launch of the Russian Sputnik satellite. "What I saw when I was 17 led me to enroll in aerospace engineering the next year," he said earlier.

In 1972 he founded his own investment company, and was a millionaire before the age of 40.

All rights reserved. � 2001 Agence France-Presse. All information displayed on this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express
Space Station News at Space-Travel.Com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News