CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The International Space Station's newest tenants say they'll be gracious when a South African Internet tycoon flies up for a visit next April, but the outgoing outpost skipper isn't exactly thrilled about the planned trip.
"The station is for workers, and it puts an additional burden on the crew to have people up here that are not doing science or conducting experiments that are productive for the research effort on the station," U.S. astronaut Frank Culbertson said Tuesday.
"I'm sure that whatever will be worked out, it'll be worked out with the mutual consent of the (station project) partners, and they'll do what they feel is best for the program. But like I said, this is a work place, a laboratory and research facility."
In training now at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City outside Moscow, millionaire Internet magnate Mark Shuttleworth inked a contract late last month to fly up to the station on a Soyuz taxi mission.
The 28-year-old entrepreneur, who made his fortune in the information technology business, reportedly is paying the Russian Aviation and Space Administration between $20 million and $25 million for an eight-day round trip to the station.
A native of Cape Town, Shuttleworth told SPACE.com that the cost of the flight includes his personal investment in a series of experiments that will include stem cell and AIDs research to be carried out on the station.What's more, Shuttleworth said he disdains the "tourist" tag, which was given to U.S. millionaire Dennis Tito when the California investment manager became the first fare-paying visitor to the international station last April.
The 16-nation station partnership, meanwhile, agreed in principle late last month to Shuttleworth's flight, but that a few details still remain to be worked out.
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"We just have to formalize the agreement," NASA spokeswoman Kirsten Larson said.
That likely will involve all station partners signing letters approving the flight, she added.
Culbertson made his comments during a space-to-ground news conference with 10 astronauts and cosmonauts now aboard the station.
In space since August, the veteran astronaut and two Russian crewmates -- Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Turin -- are wrapping up a four-month tour of duty aboard the outpost.
Known as the Expedition Three crew, Culbertson and his colleagues will return to Earth next week aboard shuttle Endeavour, which ferried a new crew up to the station after a launch last Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center.
The so-called Expedition Four crew includes Russian commander Yuri Onufrienko and two American flight engineers, Daniel Bursch and Carl Walz, the latter of whom said Shuttleworth will be welcome aboard the outpost.
"Dan and I have both had a chance to meet Mark Shuttleworth in Star City, and he's a very nice person. And I think as long as the international partners work out the program, we'll do our best to be great hosts," Walz said.
He added, though, that the South African and his Soyuz crewmates could expect that things might get a bit congested aboard the outpost during their stay.
"It'll, of course, be more work when you have more people. You'll have more things to do, and as big as the station is, we only have one bathroom, for example, and one wash area, so that'll get crowded," Walz said.
"But it's also nice to have visitors, too," he added. "It'll be nice to see new faces."
Walz and his Expedition Four crewmates took up residence on the station Saturday while Culbertson and his colleagues moved into Endeavour for the duration of the shuttle's stay at the outpost.
An official change-of-command ceremony had been slated for Tuesday but was pushed to Thursday so that the joined crews could focus on unpacking and then re-loading a shuttle-borne moving van now mounted to the station.
Some 3.5 tons of food, clothing, supplies and equipment are being moved into the station from the cargo carrier for the newly arrived crew. The cylindrical module then will be packed with 1.8 tons of luggage, surplus gear and garbage before it is stowed Friday back in the shuttle's cargo bay for the return trip to Earth.
That two-day flight, meanwhile, will start a day later than planned. NASA mission managers on Tuesday announced plans to extend Endeavour's stay at the station until Saturday so that the shuttle astronauts can help refurbish a U.S. station treadmill.
The shuttle now is scheduled to land here at NASA's coastal Florida spaceport at 1:03 p.m. EST (1803 GMT) next Monday.
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