South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth is deep in preparation at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston this week, readying himself for his "out-of-pocket", pay-per-view voyage to the International Space Station.
With Shuttleworth's liftoff less than four months away, the 28-year old Internet mogul is becoming more relaxed in prepping for his space trek to come, he told SPACE.com during a break in training Wednesday.
"It's very much the case that the more one trains, the more comfortable and safer you feel in this situation," Shuttleworth said.
"We're working very much as a crew. We've got a tremendous amount of good friendship and bonding going on. That contributes to feeling comfortable in situations nominal and off-nominal," he said.
Shuttleworth is at the Johnson Space Center for a full week, familiarizing himself with U.S. components of the International Space Station (ISS).
Riding in a Soyuz taxi craft to the ISS, Shuttleworth will be strapped in with fellow space travelers -- veteran cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko, commander and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori. The trio will link up with station crewmembers now in orbit: Russian cosmonaut Yuri Onufrienko, and U.S. astronauts, Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz.
In-depth trainingIn contrasting U.S. and Russian training procedures, Shuttleworth said that instructors in both nations are diligent and meticulous in conveying information. The prime difference for him has been the depth of the training.
"On the Russian segment of the ISS, I'm receiving several months worth of instructions, down to fairly detailed, nominal and off-nominal usage of various systems. For the U.S. segment, we're really only focusing on critical, need-to-know type things, such as emergency procedures and equipment," Shuttleworth explained.
That's not a reflection on the U.S. instruction method, the South African added. "It's just the fact that I'm flying in partnership with the Russians and I'll be spending most of my time on the Russian segment."
A Post-Tito world of difference
Shuttleworth noted that there appears to be a world of difference in his treatment by NASA, compared to last year's tourist traveler to the ISS, Dennis Tito. Much of that, he said, is due to a set of on-orbit science and educational outreach projects to be conducted.
"From what I hear, you couldn't have a more dramatic contrast between the relationship that we're forging and the relationship that was in place with Dennis Tito," Shuttleworth said. "A lot of that has got to do with the fact I'm trying to do serious work up there. They can see that I'm working my ass off -- and following a similar sort of plan and pattern that NASA themselves have mapped out."
Not keen on being labeled a space tourist, Shuttleworth said his trip involves carrying out experiments meant to stimulate and inspire South African scientists, educators and students regarding high technology and space research.
The tycoon is purportedly paying on the order of $18 million to $20 million to book his blastoff. The U.S. space travel and tourist firm, Space Adventures in Arlington, Virginia, has been acting as Shuttleworth's representative in negotiating his space flight contract with the Russian space officials and organizations to assure smooth sailing.
Awe struck
The reception in Houston, Shuttleworth explained, has been "absolutely fantastic."
The South African admitted to being awe struck by meeting so many U.S. astronauts at once. "It was daunting and dazzling. The very first thing on Monday was being introduced to 150 astronauts," he said.
A personal hero of Shuttleworth's is John Young, a veteran of Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle flights.
"I didn't get to shake his hand, but I was sitting two chairs down from Young at the astronaut briefing. Everybody has a story to tell, and yet they are so unassuming about it. That's quite fantastic," he said.
There is one tough-to-do training task, the first-time space explorer admitted.
"Trying to figure out the interfaces between the Russian and U.S. systems. From a technical point of view... it's the most complex thing that I've had to deal with," Shuttleworth said. For example, if you have a depressurization, the type of alarms and reaction procedures that must be dealt with between Russian and U.S. segments is complicated.
Another difference between Russian and American space hardware, Shuttleworth said, is how each country's gear is built to address the same issue.
Russia has decades of station experience under its space belt. Most of the Russian systems were designed back in the 1970s. "They work well, but they haven't changed at all. The U.S. stuff is startlingly new by contrast," Shuttleworth said.
For example, a fire extinguisher in the American side is modern. Not true in the Russian segment.
"You look at the American gas mask and it's a very impressive piece of equipment. The Russian one is kind of a chemical can attached to a rubber mask. It's very interesting to see... because the different sets of equipment were designed at different times. And to some extent, are based on slightly different philosophies," Shuttleworth said.
Heading back to Star City
Shuttleworth said that he and his fellow crewmates have not talked to the already orbiting ISS team, but hope to in the near future. "All the guys in our crew would like to take some gifts up to them. We're trying to figure out exactly what the right things to take would be," he said.
After his weeklong stint at NASA Johnson Space Center, Shuttleworth said he heads back to Star City, the cosmonaut training site, situated near Moscow.
The Soyuz taxi crew will undergo more training there, as well as at the Baikonour launch facility, leading up to their Earth departure.
"At my urging, they're now piling the training on," Shuttleworth said. "My greatest concern now is that we are in a position to do good work and not be a burden on the station crew come April 22, and we make the smartest possible decisions between now and then to put that into action," he said.
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