Rosaviakosmos Chief: South African Businessman Stands A Good Chance Of Going To Space In April 2002

South African businessman and space tourist Michael Shuttleworst has a good chance of making a space flight in April 2002, Russian Aerospace Agency (Rosaviakosmos) chief Yuri Koptev said at a news briefing in Moscow Tuesday. "In this flight we are not going to have the troubles we had during the flight of the first ever space tourist, Dennis Tito of the United States. We have already done what is required. We notified our partners in the construction of the International Space Station and handed over to them his flight programme, which specifies his actions when flying to the ISS and during his two-week stay aboard the station. We also specified the level of responsibility Russia assumes by sending a tourist to the ISS," said Koptev. To him, Rosaviakosmos and the government of South Africa, whose national Michael Shuttleworst is, have regulated matters of interaction. "The United States views this flight more quietly, because it has recognised the right of citizens of the world to space tourism," Koptev said. Moreover, the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration is considering a possibility of using 30 percent of the ISS resource on the development of space tourism, stressed Yuri Koptev.