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American Morning

Space Tourist Believes Trip is Money Well Spent

Aired May 01, 2001 - 10:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, turning now from politics to pioneering, American Dennis Tito says his $20 million is money well spent to become the first paid tourist in space. The California financier conducted his first interviews from aboard the International Space Station and our Steve Harrigan spoke with Tito as the craft passed over Russia. Steve joins us now from Moscow with the very latest -- Steve, good morning.

STEVE HARRIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon.

Mr. Tito is still incredibly enthusiastic about his trip. The first item on the agenda of his schedule today was safety. He heard a lecture about what to do in case of a fire, in case of decompression and how to make an emergency exit. Now, he is circling the Earth one time every 90 minutes and while he was above Russia we were able to connect with him and ask him if his long dream of going into space was living up to his expectation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENNIS TITO, FIRST SPACE TOURIST: It goes well beyond anything that I would have ever dreamed. Living in space is like having a different life, living in a different world, living in zero-G, viewing the Earth from above, it is to spectacular, it is so rewarding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIGAN: If all goes well, Mr. Tito will land Sunday in Kazakstan in the desert. Now, he's arranged to deal with the Russians so they won't get the last payment of that $20 million until he is safely back on Earth -- Leon.

HARRIS: That shows he's not a dumb businessman. Well, Steve, what is Mr. Tito doing with his, the free time that he's got up there, because we understand that the Americans have basically told him to be very careful and tread lightly when he's in their territory?

HARRIGAN: That's right. They are treading lightly. He does have to be escorted. He has to pay for anything he'll break. If he does break anything, also, he's promised not to sue. He was limited with what he could bring on board by weight. He's brining just about 15 pounds of gear, a video camera, a still camera, also a CD player and nine disks. Eight of those are opera. One of those disks, we've learned, is the latest release by the Beatles. Of course, that disk contains the single "Ticket To Ride."

HARRIS: Well, he certainly has one, a $20 million ticket to ride.

Steve Harrigan reporting live from Moscow, thanks much. We'll be talking with you down the road.

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