Forty years after Yuri Gagarin became the first man in orbit, an American businessman has become the world's first space tourist. A billionaire businessman from California, Dennis Tito, aged 60, has become the first paying passenger to go to outer space.
For Mr Tito, a former Nasa employee, it is the fulfilment of a dream he has held for 40 years. He paid $20m for his trip of a lifetime, but he has faced a number of setbacks. First, Nasa rejected his proposal, on the grounds that he is not a trained astronaut.
Russian space officials later offered him a ride on a Russian rocket ship supplying the ISS. "It is not going to be a holiday (but) to me it is a life's dream and the start of a new career," Tito told journalists, during a break from training for the mission. Tito will blast off on a Soyuz rocket
Tito is on board a Russian supply ship as a passenger, riding with two veteran cosmonauts. Looking confident, the crew make their way on to the rocket. It is April 2001.
The Soyuz rocket stands on the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome as final preparations are made
After being dressed in his space suit, Mr Tito needs help to stand
Moments after the launch, Mr Tito said that he felt 'great '
Despite feelings of queasiness, Mr Tito says he had no trouble with weightlessness.
Mr Tito floats through a hatch into the space station, shortly after the Soyuz spacecraft docks.
The journey up into orbit took just nine minutes
Tito spent eight days on the space station. During the flight Dennis Tito spent much of his time photographing and videoing the Earth. Tito is a celebrity in Russia
Say true or false. 1. Dennis Tito is an astronaut. 2. His space flight was in Dennis Tito is from America. 4. He travelled with some French astronauts. 5. He spent eighty days in space. 6. He has travelled in a spaceship twice.
Answer the questions. 1. When did Tito make a trip into space? 2. What was the name of the spaceship? 3. How much did he pay for the flight? 4. What did he do in space? 5. Have you ever dreamed of going into space? 6. Would you like to travel into space? Why ?
Источники информации: newsid_ / stm