The idea of \u200b\u200ba person's flight into space as a tourist appeared in 1967, but since the specialty of the cosmonaut was still not familiar and mastered even for the pilot-professionals, cosmic tourism was postponed until better times. And only by the end of the 20th century, when the tandem of commerce and space began to actively develop, and the starts into space became familiar to this idea, they returned again. And one of the people who carried out this idea became Dennis Anthony Tito.
Where all all began
In 1984, the National Advisor on Alpapal and Space Space Research (NASA) decided to launch an ordinary American land into the orbit. To this end, the competition "Teacher in Space" was organized. By the summer of 1985, two contenders were selected: 37-year-old Christie Macoliff (basic) and 34-year-old Barbara Morgan (Dubler).
On January 28, 1986, Challenger Shuttle started with Macolin and crew on board. At the first minute of takeoff there was an explosion of an external fuel tank. As a result of the freelancer, all astronauts died.
The fate of Barbara Morgan was happier: in 2007 she still visited space.
In 1990, a citizen of Japan visited the space: a journalist of TBS TBS Yakiyama television company. In space, he stayed seven days, performing the functions of the cosmonaut explorer.
However, all these flights can not be interpreted as tourism: they were paid for solid corporations, and the participants themselves were selected by the competition. And only Tito Dennis, posted in 2001 its $ 20 million for fun 128 times to flew the planet on board the International Space Station (ISS), can rightly be considered the first civilian space tourist.
Biography Dennis Tito
Tito Dennis, whose biography became known in 2001 to the whole world, was born on August 8, 1940 in one of the New York districts in the family of Italian immigrants. His parents were poor: the father worked in the printing house, and the mother worked for the seams that did not bring serious revenues to the family budget.
From his childhood, Dennis extradited a good lesson: only the presence of a goal and hard work for its achievement can bring the desired. Such a desire for the young man was flying into space. With this thought, Dennis Tito in 1962 enters the Engineering College, which was at the New York University.
At the end in 1964, he receives a master's degree in engineering technologies. In 1970, decides to continue their studies at the University of Andersen (University of California, Los Angeles).
In 1972, Tito creates Wilshere Associates Inc. in California, which is controlled to the present.
He was married, but currently lives alone, in the house where his family ever lived is a wife and three children.
Tito Dennis, interesting facts from which can be excellent examples for young people, which and how to achieve an ordinary person, having a goal in front of them, in 1963, continuing to study, already worked as an aerospace engineer NASA. He participated in the sale of flights of interplanetary spacecraft MARINER, was engaged in calculating the trajectories of their flights to Mars and Venus.
Received good education contributed to the successful work of his company. Dennis created the total market index WILSHERE 5000, which occupies the leading position in the securities market today. As a result, the company is among the leading service providers in the field of management, consulting and investment technology.
Despite the change of profession in 1972, Tito remained devoted to his dream about flight into space. And now, being already a multimillioner, he still could not fulfill his desire. The reason for this was the NASA policy: civilians for American space ships were not allowed under any kind.
The unexpected assistance of Tito came from the eternal rival of the United States in space - Russia: he was invited to visit the Soviet station "Peace". However, its expired period of operation caused to close this project. And yet the Russian energy company "Energia" and the Agency for Cosmonautics proposed Dennis Tito to visit the ISS with the Mission "Taxi".
USA, Japan, Canada and European Space Agency made against this flight, motivating this by the fact that his presence of Tito Dennis will complicate the work of the ISS crew, which can create a threat to its safety. American media also negatively appreciated Tito's plans on space travel. But Rosaviakosmos still went to meet the American citizen, giving him the Russian part of the station. The preparation of a space tourist to travel to the Earth's orbit has begun.
Preparation for "climbing" on the ISS
After all the necessary documents were signed by both parties to the project, preparation for flight began. She lasted just over a month. Preparation included training and practice of work in space. About how the workouts passed, Tito Dennis himself will tell. Interesting facts from his memoirs may be useful future cosmic tourists.
He had to train in adaptation to overloads and weightlessness, in conducting rescue operations, as well as to know the features of life on the ISS. Soon, Tito was required only 25 seconds to put on the jade. All credits were "excellent", because the space tourist is something else than what is associated with this word on earth. Very much depends on its preparation.
On the eve of the start, the first tradition was laid for all future cosmic tourists: through the straw pursing the orange slice, "devastated" with a glass with a poured on 5 mm brandy.
"I visited Rai"
The Russian ship "Union TM-32", on which Tito and Cosmonauts, Yuri Baturin, Talgat Musabayev, was docked to the ISS on April 30, 2001. Those six days spent on board the station, Dennis recalls as a "amazing feeling", although at first it is a slightly mud.
The first sense that tested when looking at the land from Cosmos Tito Dennis (photos of that better confirmation) was reverence.
As the tourist believes, on a trip to orbit, Dennis grabbed a camera with 30 photographs, a video camera and a voice recorder. Naturally, Tito collected many photos and video.
Tito compared the overall impression on the orbit of Earth's orbit with a visit to Paradise.
"I visited heaven and steam as an angel, looking down on the ground," said Tito after landing.
Tourism in space is inevitable
Tito Denis Space Tourist as an example caused an unprecedented interest in the new destination in the tourism.
Virgin Galactic already has 450 people who want to visit space as tourists, and Blue Origin announced the intention in 2018 to organize subborital travels for individuals.
Tourism is developing cosmos finally and irrevocably.
