Millionaire ‘excited’ about space science trip

From dream to reality
But after Tito and Shuttleworth made their flights, Olsen decided that he was in the "right time of my life" to take on his own space adventure — and that he had the wherewithal to follow through on his dream.

"I was looking for the next chapter of my life, and this looks like it's going to be a real big one," he said.

It has taken some time for the plot to build, however: Olsen first began training for the flight more than a year ago, but Russian doctors sidelined him due to unspecified medical concerns. This spring, the doctors said those concerns had been resolved and cleared the way for Olsen to resume training at Russia's Star City cosmonaut complex.

Olsen has been visiting Johnson Space Center this week, along with McArthur and Tokarev, for sessions with NASA trainers. When Tito made a similar visit, NASA officials initially took him away from training, leading to a brief boycott by his crewmates. Shuttleworth and Olsen, in contrast, received a warmer reception.

On Thursday, McArthur spoke well of Olsen as well as Tokarev, his Russian crewmate. "We share a lot in common," said McArthur, 54. "We're all three on the wrong side of 50 years old."

What Expedition 12 will do
McArthur is to command Expedition 12 to the space station, which will be devoted to building up the orbital outpost as well as conducting dozens of scientific experiments.

One of the experiments will test small free-flying satellites, as part of a project called SPHERES (an acronym standing for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellite). Such satellites could eventually fly in formation to inspect spacecraft or make interferometric observations of distant planetary systems, looking for signs of life.

Tim Johnson / Reuters NASA astronaut Bill McArthur, Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev and space passenger Greg Olsen meet the press at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

McArthur compared the CO2-propelled satellite to the small, spherical training satellite that Obi-Wan Kenobi used to train Luke Skywalker in the original "Star Wars" movie. "The experiment ultimately will include three satellites that fly in relation to one another," he said.

One of Expedition 12's members will be arriving separately: German astronaut Thomas Reiter is due to fly up on Atlantis during the next space shuttle mission and stay aboard for an overlapping six-month stint. Atlantis' launch had been scheduled for September, before the Soyuz launch, but NASA has put the mission on hold while engineers investigate a foam debris problem that arose after Discovery's launch.

McArthur voiced confidence that Reiter would bring the station back to its pre-Columbia complement of three for Expedition 12, although he couldn't predict exactly when Atlantis' launch would occur.

McArthur also said Expedition 12 may well be "the last spaceflight of my career." He told reporters that it was time to give younger astronauts, many of whom have never been in space, the kinds of opportunities that he had. McArthur already has flown on three shuttle missions over the past 12 years.

Olsen was asked whether he'd prefer to fly on the Soyuz or on the space shuttle, particularly in light of the safety concerns surrounding Discovery's current mission.

"I'd be on the first boat that's leaving," he said with a smile. "I'd go on either one of them."

MORE FROM THE NEW SPACE RACE

The New Space Race Section Front

What’s next for X? Students reveal swanky space hotel concept Cosmic Log: Scientists go suborbital Soviet-era spaceships to do commercial flights Arab investment boosts spaceship venture Spaceship launcher's debut watched by crowd Cosmic Log: The 5-year-old space age Circus founder making leap to space Virgin Galactic completes initial rocket tests Moon rover targets Apollo 11 landing site The New Space Race Section Front   Add The New Space Race headlines to your news reader: