[FPSPACE] Tito, Goldin & the start of space tourism

[Keith Gottschalk]

hi Dwayne & other astronautics fans,

     First,  I did not phrase myself clearly when I hastily typed that "Goldin's [reluctance] is ungracious to a former JPL-NASA employee".   Naturally, only the saints among us are going to find it easy to feel sympathy for someone whose annual income is maybe one thousand times higher than our own pay 
< grin >  !

    What I should have typed is:

      Dennis Tito, more than any other billionaire or $100s-millionaire has a hi-tech background. Even compared to Bill Gates,  Tito's life interest in, & career start through specifically Astronomy & Astronautics (JPL),  make him THE model passenger to be trusted. Even with admission to an orbital construction site.  His technical understanding, his behavior towards hard-hat rules, his engineering knowledge that the penalty for carelessness, or breaking rules, could be death for you & the whole team, is keener than anyone else in his income bracket, - or the 2 Congressmen & Saudi prince who flew in the shuttle. 

     Second, anyone from NASA seeking private sector allies should not need a Phd in Public Relations, marketing, or advertising, to make hay while the Tito sunshine lasts. Welcome billionaire tourists with enthusiasm, & splash their  astro-adventures, with the maximum IMAX & webcams publicity the client will permit.  Trade off any inconvenience as a once in a lifetime opportunity for feel-good PR & public excitement.  What's good for the space venture capitalist community means more empathy for NASA, ESA, RAKA & all university space researchers!

    Most space tourists' behavior is predictable. As soon as they float out of the Soyuz / shuttle airlock, they 

1) will want to follow a astro / cosmonaut around & peep out of curiousity at all compartments in the ISS. 

2) Then they will want to know where the gallery & the toilet is.

3)  Then they will try to minimize space sickness, & lap up the greatest ecstacy of all, by sticking next to the largest available window in ISS.

   Once their film / camcorder DVDs have run out, & eating in microgravity, & using the space shower & toilet has ceased to be a novelty, & they have had fun floating upside down etc, they will be ready to "fasten their safety belts & adjust their seats to the landing position".