Space Travel 101: Fundamentals of Space Travel

Overview The Russian Soyuz TM-32 was to be kept at the International Space Station as a lifeboat, and the crew that brought it returned to Earth on the Soyuz TM-31 stored there. The first space tourist, Dennis Tito, accompanied the crew.

Analysis The Russian Soyuz TM-32 is unique in that it took the first space tourist, Dennis Tito, to the International Space Station. The mission was to take The Soyuz TM-32 to be a new lifeboat for the station, because the previous lifeboat, the Soyuz TM-31, had reached its limit of storage time. Because of fuel degradation, the lifeboat must be replaced every six months. Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 28, 2001, the Soyuz TM-32 carried commander Talgat Musabayev, flight engineer Yuri Baturin, and American tourist Dennis Tito. Tito, a former NASA engineer, paid $20 million US dollars for his historical flight as the first space tourist. The crew remained at the space station for seven days and returned to Earth on the Soyuz TM-31.