Commander cool to station visitors

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The International Space Station is no place for people who are not working, said Frank Culbertson, a former NASA manager who is returning next week after 4 1/2 months as station commander.

NASA has given its preliminary approval for Russia to fly a second paying tourist to the outpost next year. Mark Shuttleworth, a 28-year-old South African businessman, reportedly is paying $25 million for his spaceflight -- $5 million more than what the world's first space tourist, Dennis Tito, paid for a similar voyage in April.

NASA vehemently opposed Tito's trip and fought to keep the California investment tycoon grounded. But facing the inevitable, managers decided to grant him limited access to American portions of the station provided that Russia agreed to submit future travel requests to the international partnership that manages the station program and abide by its decision. The partners are expected to approve Shuttleworth's flight.

Culbertson, for one, is cool to the idea.

"The station's a working place, and they're going to be extremely busy. The station is for workers," Culbertson said during an inflight news conference on Tuesday.

"It puts an additional burden on the crew to have people up here that are not doing science or conducting experiments that are productive for the research effort of the station.

"I'm sure that whatever will be worked out will be worked out with the mutual consent of the partners and they'll do what they feel is best for the program. But this is a workplace, a laboratory, a research facility," Culbertson said.

Shuttleworth's visit would coincide with the five-month mission of the new station crew, which took over control of the outpost on Saturday. The crew includes two Americans, Carl Walz and Dan Bursch.

"Dan and I have both had a chance to meet Mark Shuttleworth in (Russia's) Star City, and he's a very nice person," Walz said. "I think as long as the international partners work out the program, we'll do our best to be great hosts."