Tito Wins Praise From Russian Crew

He may not be NASA’s favorite flier, but as American “space tourist” Dennis Tito finishes the seventh day of his cosmic odyssey today, he has become a respected member of the collective to his Russian crew mates and their associates on the ground.

Defending the Los Angeles multimillionaire against NASA’s sniping has turned into a matter of principle for the Russians involved with the Soyuz TM-32 mission that last Saturday launched Tito on his way to the International Space Station.

“No way” is Tito in the way aboard the ISS, Talgat Musabayev, commander of the Soyuz mission, said during a video hookup Friday. “Moreover, he is trying to help us. . . . He has fit quite well.”

In a mark of respect, the Russians have taken to calling him “Titov”--a nickname that recalls the Soviet Union’s lauded second man in space, Gherman S. Titov. One spokesman went a step further, calling him the “Gagarin” of would-be space tourists.

Because Yuri A. Gagarin, who in 1961 became the first person to circle the Earth, is remembered as almost a god by the Russian space program, that is high praise indeed.

Tito, a 60-year-old former Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer who went on to make a fortune in the investment world, is paying the Russian space program $20 million for the right to circle the globe--the first time a private individual has contracted to go into space.

He is scheduled to board a different Soyuz module Sunday, to become the first American ever to return to Earth aboard a Russian spacecraft.

NASA head Daniel S. Goldin on Wednesday denigrated Tito’s voyage, saying it creates a strain on the Americans involved in the 16-nation space station because the businessman needs “baby-sitting” and puts stress on people at NASA.

Since those remarks, the Russians have been going out of their way to praise Tito for professional conduct and helpfulness to his fellow space travelers.

Valery Ryumin, a former cosmonaut and director of Russia’s ISS program, called it “nonsense” that Tito had harmed the station. The only thing that has been bruised, he said, is NASA’s ego.

“NASA did not want Tito to fly to the ISS, but he did,” Ryumin said. “And this is the morale damage.”

Tito spoke out in his own defense Friday, saying he did not believe he was disruptive.

“The American sector [of the space station] is at least 100 meters from the place where we are sitting right now--where I spend most of my time--and there is absolutely no way that my presence can interfere with their work,” Tito said.

The Russian commander of the ISS’ regular Russian and American crew, Yuri Usachev, said Tito has been made the mission’s unofficial “chef”--picking out the tubes of food to be consumed at mealtimes.

Tito was allowed to ride with a two-man Soyuz crew bringing a new module that could be used as an escape vehicle from the station in emergencies. The module is now docked with the ISS, and Tito and the two Russians who flew with him are staying primarily in a Russian-built section of the station.

However, as a nod to his amateur status, Tito sleeps in the module so that he can be ready in case there is a need for a hasty exit.

Although Tito has performed well, he is still a rookie, said Musabayev, the mission commander. “We have to explain to him some things that cannot be learned on Earth, as we would for any other novice cosmonaut.”

Tito has been qualified to perform communications chores, but he is not obligated to do any work.

“He is left to his own devices and is expected to take pictures, look out the window, relax and enjoy himself,” said Sergei K. Gromov, an engineer at Russia’s Energiya space company.

But the Russians are quick to insist that Tito is an asset. “It would be wrong to view him as a freeloader; an extra pair of hands on board is never a liability,” said Sergei A. Gorbunov, a spokesman for the Russian Space Agency.

Like his fellow space travelers, Tito exercises on a treadmill to help cope with the physical effects of weightlessness. For the most part, though, his daily routine is staring at Earth, taking photographs and listening to opera on CDs.

Tito has been able to talk via ham radio to his sister and his two sons. Russians on the ground say he also had at least one conversation with his lawyers. The talk was private, but controllers surmised that it had to do with paying his fare.

One thing he has not been doing, Gorbunov said, is trading stocks. “He employs about 400 to 500 people, and they can manage perfectly well without Mr. Tito’s guidance.”

Despite Goldin’s comments, Gromov denied that Tito has felt a cold shoulder from the station’s regular crew, which, aside from commander Usachev, includes U.S. astronauts Susan Helms and Jim Voss.

“Up there they are a unified team,” Gromov said, “far away from the intrigues and prejudices on the ground.”