The International Space Station had its first space tourist on April 30 with the arrival of American billionaire Dennis Tito. Tito is a 60-year-old Californian businessman. Tito was a rocket engineer who later went into high finance. Tito trained for a year in Russia to prepare for his trip into space.

Tito paid Russia $20 million to travel to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft, launched on a rocket from Baikonur, Kazakstan. Soyuz commander Talgat Musabaev was the first to board the Space Station, followed by Tito and another cosmonaut in their blue cosmonaut suits. Their main objective was to deliver a fresh Soyuz lifeboat, which was accomplished as soon as they docked. They are scheduled for a 6-day stay aboard the Space Station.

Tito loves being in space. The cosmonauts said Tito looks ten years younger since they went into space. Tito is in very good health and good physical condition. Tito may be paving the way for more space tourists, much to the benefit of the Russian space progam which has had inadequate funding.

NASA objected to a space tourist aboard the space station but dropped its complaints the week of the launch. Filmmaker James Cameron is already negotiating with the Russians for his own tourist trip to the Space Station, depending on the outcome of Tito’s trip.