Dennis Tito: all my hopes and expectations came true

First space tourist Dennis Tito thinks that all his “hopes and expectations of encountering the outer space entirely came true." U.S. space tourist Dennis Tito, clearly delighted with his stay on the International Space Station, pledged on Tuesday to encourage others to follow his example and said one need not be superhuman" to go into space. Mr. Tito, who has reportedly paid $20 million (14 million pounds) for his week-long journey, arrived aboard the station on Monday with two Russian cosmonauts after their Soyuz capsule docked with the complex. Television pictures showed him beaming as he floated weightlessly through the cabin of the station's Russian segment. Mr. Tito told a news conference staged by mission control outside Moscow that he felt fine and that crew members were treating him well. He promised to do what he could to bring other enthusiasts aboard despite the prohibitive price tag. "If I have anything to say about it, I will do my best to communicate to people how great an experience this is. One does not have to be superhuman to adapt to space," he is quoted by Reuters as saying. "It's very doable. Unfortunately, it's very expensive at this point, but there are others who can afford this and I would like to encourage it. That's what I hope to accomplish." He described the flight as "everything and well beyond what I would have expected. It's time for me to help other people to achieve their dreams." Russian crew members, including ISS commander Yuri Usachev as well as Yuri Baturin and Talgat Musabayev, launched aboard Soyuz with Mr. Tito at the weekend, had become "very close friends