Civilian scientist will do research in space

Civilian scientist will do research in space

From Journal Sentinel wire reports

Tuesday, March 30, 2004

New York — The next civilian to be rocketed into orbit at his own expense won’t just be enjoying the ride: Gregory Olsen, a scientist who made a fortune with optics inventions, plans to do some research during his $20 million trip to the International Space Station.

Olsen, the founder of Sensors Unlimited Inc. in Princeton, N.J., has hired the company that brokered the first space tourist trip, millionaire Dennis Tito’s flight aboard a Russian spacecraft in 2001.

Olsen, 58, said Monday that he plans to bring along infrared sensors, which detect varying levels of heat, to analyze pollution in the Earth’s atmosphere and the health of agricultural systems on the ground. He plans to publish his findings in scientific journals.

At a news conference Monday, he also said he wants to take the camera and “turn it around to look at the heavens and do infrared astronomy.”

The eight-day voyage is scheduled for April 2005, but there is a chance that Olsen could go in October.