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David Spates Space is no place for
I have just two words for the Russian officials
who allowed a California businessman to purchase a rocket ride
to the International Space Station. Well, actually, I have one
word and one acronym -- USS Greeneville. Maybe the Russians don't get CNN and didn't
hear about the submarine that crashed into a Japanese ship, killing
nine people. Maybe. What's more likely, however, is that the
Russians would rather take on increased risk in exchange for
a $20 million fare, frequent flyer miles not included. On Saturday, a Russian rocket blasted off
from desolate plains in Central Asia en route to the space station,
where U.S. billionaire Dennis Tito, accompanied by two cosmonauts,
will complete an until-now unremarkable mission. What has made it remarkable is the presence
of Tito, who although he once worked for NASA, has absolutely
no business in space. He's there to gawk. He's there because
even though he has thousands of millions of dollars to his name,
that's simply not enough. He's there so he can trump any other
story at the country club as he sips Dom Perignon with the other
billionaires. I can't say that I blame him. If I had a billion
dollars, I'd probably ask a cash-poor country if I could tag
along for a trip to space? I certainly wouldn't expect that the
country's officials would agree to it, but I'd probably ask anyway.
I suspect that most billionaires are like spoiled children. They
don't hear the word "no" very often. They expect people
to provide whatever they ask for. If they don't get their way
at first, they throw a tantrum, or in the case of Tito, they
write a big, fat check. But like I said, I can't condemn Tito. Like
an easily manipulated parent who yearns to hear "I love
you, Daddy" after he purchases the toy-of-the-moment, the
Russian government is going along with Tito's request for the
payoff, regardless of what kind of message it sends. How many Lamborghinis can a middle-aged white
guy buy before it gets boring? How many beach houses, 80-foot
yachts and trophy wives does it take before your eye begins to
wander? Like the rest of us, Tito can spend his money any way
he sees fit, but the Russian government is acting irresponsibly
by indulging his fantasy. Just because he can afford it doesn't
mean it should be for sale. Will Tito's presence on the rocket and in
the space station set off a chain of events that will lead to
disaster as the Greeneville tourists' presence seems to have?
Probably not. This is the first tourist on the first paid-for
rocket ride. The chances of something going wrong are pretty
slim, as I'm sure they were during the first paid-for submarine
ride years ago. However, bad things will happen if you engage
in risky behavior long enough, and having bumbling tourists on
a submarine or rocket is definitely risky behavior. Bad things
are bound to happen sooner than later. It's difficult enough
to conduct an emergency surfacing drill off the coast of Hawaii
or to dock with a space station orbiting high above the Earth
without having to worry about where the tourists are. The Russian space officials claim Tito has
received training equivalent to that of the cosmonauts'. Sure,
whatever. I mean, really, what else are they going to say? "Well,
Mr. Tito here is admittedly a complete amateur when it comes
to space flight, but did you get a good look at the size of that
check? The last time we saw that many zeros was at a Tom Arnold
film festival. We've attached Post-it notes to the buttons and
levers he's not supposed to touch. We just hope Mr. Tito doesn't
mind sharing a seat with the evil Hugo Drax and lovely Dr. Goodhead."
A fully trained cosmonaut? I seriously doubt it. The Russian
economy may be depleted somewhat, but certainly they have a couple
of rubles to train their cosmonauts sufficiently, and I suspect
Tito received little more than the crash course, so to speak. I wish Tito and his cosmonaut pilots a safe
journey, but I feel like it's a big mistake at this point in
space travel. I fully expect tourist trips into space to soon
be as regular and uneventful as transcontinental airplane flights
are today, but we're not there yet. It might not happen when
Tito, who is 60, is still alive, but it will happen. Now is not
the time for space tourism, and I suspect that the families of
the nine dead Japanese would probably agree with me. |