Olsen is paying $20 million for the space trip, which was announced today by the space tourism firm Space Adventures during a press briefing held at the W-Union Square Hotel in New York City. Space Adventures, which helped broker the flights of the first two ISS tourists, Dennis Tito in 2001 and Mark Shuttleworth in 2002, also brokered Olsens journey.
I think Gregs flight will draw out more who want to go into space, said Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson in a telephone interview.
During his eight-day flight, Olsen plans to spend six days aboard the ISS conducting experiments using Sensors Unlimited infrared cameras, as well as crystal growth studies, though some issues must still be worked out before a final science agenda can be set.
This is primarily a science mission, though Ill get a pleasure doing it, Olsen said, adding that the remaining two days of his spaceflight are to be spent aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft as it ferries him and other ISS crew to and from the space station.
Originally from New York Citys Brooklyn, Olsen is currently a resident of Princeton, New Jersey. He has already twice been to the Star City complex at Russia's Federal Space Agency to undergo required medical exams and tour the sites facilities, though actual flight training has yet to commence.
In addition to conducting space science and the opportunity to reach space personally, Olsen said he hopes his voyage will encourage some of todays youth to pursue careers in science and engineering, a scholarly path that led him to his date with the ISS. He hopes to convey his experience to students and schools once he returns to the bonds of Earth.
This mission really begins upon landing, Olsen said.
While the process of planning Olsens trip resembled those of past ISS tourist flights, the fact that it occurred after the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its seven-astronaut crew did set it apart from the others, Space Adventures officials said.
Now we are in an environment that is after Columbia and the refreshing thing is that people like Dr. Olsen are not worried, Anderson said. Its really an important signal for people to seethat we still need to take risks nevertheless, and not just in government programs, in the name of science.
Olsen first began planning a space trip in June 2003, months after the Feb. 1 Columbia accident that gave the public an unmistakable example of the risks inherent to spaceflight.
Life itself is a risk, in any type of exploration, and I just dont think about it, Olsen said. Im just really eager to go.
Anderson said that Space Adventures did not run into any Columbia-related delays in planning Olsens flight, either from NASA or Russian space officials.
Unlike the space shuttle fleet, which has been grounded since the Columbia accident, Soyuz spacecraft must launch every six months to keep the ISS supplied and the Russians know there is an extra seat available for space tourists, he added.
About the only thing Anderson expects to change in the space tourism business is the price tag. The average $20 million per flight fare is expected to rise in upcoming years in pace with Russian costs to run regularly scheduled ISS flights.
The cost of Soyuz is much less expensive than the space shuttle, Anderson said. But the cost of costs of labor and materials are going up.
Russia, meanwhile, recently proposed extending missions to the orbiting outpost from six months to a year to allow the countryto set aside seats on one launch a year for two paying customers, either tourists or European Space Agency astronauts.
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