SPACE.com's Moscow contributing correspondent Yuri Karash recently interviewed mission commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Yuri Baturin about their upcoming flight with California millionaire Dennis Tito on a mission the International Space Station (ISS).

SPACE.com: You are a veteran of two space missions. In what way will the upcoming flight with Tito be different from your previous flights?

Musabayev: For me it will be a totally different mission from all points of view. It will be my first short-duration mission, although my total spaceflight time has totaled 333 days that I accumulated during my two previous flights.

Second, this will also be a totally unusual mission in the history of world spaceflight, since a tourist has never before flown into space. This puts a lot of responsibility on me as a commander for the success of the mission.

Finally, this will be the first taxi mission to International Space Station.

SPACE.com: Do you, as a mission commander, anticipate any problems due to Titos presence onboard Soyuz/ISS?

Musabayev: Not any major ones. Of course, there may be some minor problems that usually happen during any mission. However, mission commanders and flight engineers who are always present onboard the spacecraft are supposed to solve such problems.

I would say that the biggest problem of our upcoming mission has been a lot of negative light that was shed on [our flight] by the mass media, some particular persons and organizations, including NASA, who did not want this flight to happen.

About my professional relationship with Tito during flight, I would say that I anticipate it to be really easy and straightforward. I would say that he has the right attitude toward his role in this flight. He told me, "I am a good soldier" and, as such, he is not supposed to cause any problems or difficulties with his commander.

SPACE.com: Who will Tito report to while onboard the ISS?

Musabayev: The stations current commander is Yuri Usachev. All of us onboard the outpost, including Tito, will be subordinated to him.

SPACE.com: Do you, as a professional cosmonaut, feel comfortable about your upcoming flight with "amateur cosmonaut" Dennis Tito? Do you believe that he is adequately trained to assure the safety of the mission?

Baturin: I believe that the term "comfortable" does not accurately reflect my feelings about this flight. Comfort is determined by some other factors. The degree of confidence does not depend on Tito either, but on the overall preparation for the flight. So, you probably want to know whether I have any concern related to Titos presence in our crew.

I surely have such concern. However, it is related not to our training, its thoroughness or duration. Tito knows everything that he needs to know to perform his particular role in this flight. Ive had an opportunity to see this.