On Monday when four Russian cosmonauts, along with a European astronaut and Dennis Tito, arrived at NASA's Johnson Space Center for additional training on US space systems, they were told that Tito was not welcome and would be required to attend a separate series of meetings to discuss "administrative and legal arrangements as well as future training that would be necessary in order for him to fly to the orbiting station."

The Russian Soyuz primary commander Talgat Musabayev objected to Tito not being included in crew training and elected not to participate in the training sessions scheduled for Monday.

The move by NASA to effectively block Tito's participation in an upcoming Soyuz taxi flight to ISS, followed a meeting last week of the space station partnership in Moscow, where NASA and other international partners from Canada, Europe and Japan, told the Russian Aviation and Space Agency that they were against Tito's flight to the space station in April due to the intense period of operations that will occur during the next several months.

The non-Russian partners argued that during this period, the presence of a non-professional crewmember who is untrained on all critical station systems, is unable to respond and assist in any contingency situation which may arise, and who would require constant supervision, would add a significant burden to the Expedition and detract from the overall safety of the International Space Station.

In a statement issued late Monday, NASA said it "fully supports the commercialization of the International Space Station, provided that the safety and operational integrity of the vehicle and crew are maintained at all times.

"To that end, NASA and the other international partners are in the process of establishing criteria for selection, training and certification of non-professional station crewmembers on the International Space Station on a commercial basis.

"However, based on incomplete crew criteria and unresolved operational and legal considerations, there is not enough time to prepare Tito for a safe Soyuz flight to the station in April."

A press briefing on what is fast proving to be a very embarrassing stand off between Moscow and Washington will be held Tuesday at NASA Headquarters at 3.30pm EST.

The upcoming Soyuz flight to ISS will deliver a new crew rescue spacecraft, with the two cosmonauts and Tito returning in the Soyuz currently docked to ISS.

Russia argues that without Tito riding shotgun in the middle seat and paying $20 million for the privilege, Russia would not be able to afford to send a replacement Soyuz to ISS.

If a replacement Soyuz is not dispatched to ISS soon then the second expedition could see its tour cut short and forced to return in the Soyuz currently docked to ISS.

This is a scenario that NASA would clearly like to avoid, and the only possible route to Moscow agreeing to not fly Tito in April would be for NASA to pay for the upcoming Soyuz flight itself.

Although Tito has found widespread support among space entrepreneurs, his quest to be the "first space tourist" has found little support among the US congress with several notable objections to sending an amateur to a multi-billion dollar orbital lab paid for largely by American taxpayers.

NEWS FLASH
Moscow Orders Cosmonauts To Resume Training
Moscow (Interfax) March 20, 2001 - Russian cosmonauts Talgat Musabayev and Yuri Baturin, who boycotted training at the U.S. space center in Houston, Texas, on Monday, will receive orders from Moscow to resume training shortly, spokesman for the head of the Russian Aerospace Agency Sergei Gorbunov told Interfax on Tuesday.