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First Space Tourist to Arrive in Russia

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 June 2004, 06:00 CDT

MOSCOW. June 22 (Interfax) - U.S. millionaire Dennis Tito, the world's first space tourist, is due to arrive in Moscow later on Tuesday, a spokesman for Space Adventures, the commercial space- tourism agency, told Interfax.

Tito's plane is expected to land at one of Moscow's airports at around 6:00 p.m.

Eric Anderson, the head of Space Adventures, which arranged the trips for Tito and the second space tourist, Mark Shuttleworth, is expected to come to Moscow as well.

Tito and Anderson will hold a series of meetings with Russian space sector officials which may address the possibility of investments in developing a Russian spaceship for suborbital space tourism, the spokesman said.

Tito will also meet with cosmonauts Yury Baturin and Talgat Musabayev, with whom he traveled to the International Space Station.

Tito will also visit Gregory Olsen, the next space tourist who is currently preparing for his flight in Zvyozdny Gorodok, the spokesman said.

Olsen said in an earlier interview with Interfax that he has met with Tito several times and they often correspond by phone and by email. He described Tito as a friendly and open person.

Olsen quoted Tito as saying that what he saw and experienced during the flight exceeded all of his previous expectations.

Tito is expected to stay in Russia for ten days.

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