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CNN Sunday Morning

Tito's Son Calls Blast Off Spiritual Experience

Aired April 29, 2001 - 07:08   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: NASA has given the green light for the space shuttle Endeavour crew to undock from the international space station this afternoon. The undocking was delayed while engineers worked on computer problems. With the backup computer running again, astronauts yesterday completed the first robotic-to- robotic transfer in space. And once Endeavour leaves, a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying the first space tourist is due to dock at the space station tomorrow.

Well, that space tourist is California businessman Dennis Tito. He reportedly paid Moscow $20 million for the trip, which NASA initially opposed.

Joining me now from Moscow is Tito's son, Brad Tito.

Good morning Brad,

BRAD TITO, SPACE TOURIST'S SON: Good morning.

PHILLIPS: So, has your dad always had this source of -- this sense of adventure?

TITO: He picks his goals with care. He's always been interested in space; this has been a lifelong dream. And believe it or not, he'd do this, but maybe not some other things that might be dangerous or considered dangerous.

PHILLIPS: All right; so you -- you've been kind of hanging out with dad. Tell me what it was like to watch the launch, and kind of give us some details on the feeling.

TITO: Well, it's a very emotional experience, actually, to watch your father blast off into space because, you know, I grew up -- in elementary school I watched the Challenger explode on TV in class. I was worried that he might just die right in front of my face. It was sort of a play of life and death fighting for my father's destiny, so in that I saw reflected, maybe God.

I figure, this is the most extraordinary experience that Dennis Tito could ever have in his life; it's really the ultimate for him. So it was almost the ultimate of life, or no chance of survival, death. So in that, it was an amazing event to participate in and watch; very powerful.

PHILLIPS: So it was kind of a spiritual experience for you?

TITO: Absolutely. I mean, what more is -- you know, space has become this thing associated with technology, and with progress and all these things but, fundamentally, for humans to get off the earth and look back and to see it from a bigger perspective -- without political boundaries, without any sort of -- nothing but the living organism itself. It's got to be a profound spiritual experience. Not very many people get to experience being opposed to something, and being able to look back on our home, our life. You know, we all share this earth, and so it's powerful.

PHILLIPS: Brad -- absolutely. And when he first told you about this, what was the discussion like, and did you try to talk him out of it?

TITO: No, I wouldn't try to talk him out of it. You know, part of me felt like, at first, that it was a lot of money to spend -- so many people have so very little -- to just, you know, pay all this money just to have one eight-day experience, or however long. It seemed a little eccentric, and perhaps it wasn't doing as much benefit as it could.

But as I see it more clearly and understand his motivations -- why he's doing this, I believe that for a person to pursue their goals and to achieve the absolute optimum potential of them as a human being really is the point in a lot of ways. I would, perhaps, choose a different path than he, but we all, I think, in the end, are looking for life experience. And this is, for him, the ultimate.

PHILLIPS: So what is it that he said to you, Brad, that convinced you? Sort of -- you know, you had concerns about the amount of money going toward this; what justified it in your mind? What did he say, where you really felt it in your heart -- wow, OK, I get it, dad?

TITO: To look at him recently and see that -- he's worked very long and hard on trying to get to space -- to see the joy and youth in his eyes, it's really -- this is such a special thing to him. It really is so important. I love my father, and I would give everything to have him so happy.

PHILLIPS: Brad Tito, absolute pleasure. Thanks for joining us and sort of sharing the personal side to your father and your relationship.

TITO: Thank you.

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