Russia-US crew and tourist blast off
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-01 16:34

NOWHERE ON EARTH

Olsen's daughter said that until the launch she had not worried that it might be dangerous. "And it's strange that my father is not actually with me on this Earth right now."

Flight controllers said the crew were doing well. A live feed showed them hunched inside the Soyuz, where the only personal touch visible was a miniature troll with a shock of pink hair dangling as if from a car dashboard.

The Soyuz is scheduled to dock with the station in two days.

At the moment Russia bears the responsibility for ferrying people and supplies to the $100-billion station after NASA grounded its shuttle fleet in July, having failed to fix a technical problem that killed seven astronauts in 2003.

McArthur and Tokarev will be busy keeping the station ticking over, but they should also do two or three space walks, according to NASA's website. However, only the shuttle is big enough to ship the parts needed to finish the station.

Although the launch went swimmingly, one small hitch remains. McArthur, in theory, has only a one-way ticket.

Roskosmos, Russia's space agency, meets its obligations to fly NASA astronauts at the end of this year and with the shuttle potentially out of action, the United States needs to cut a deal with Moscow to allow him to fly home on the Soyuz.

The snag is that trade sanctions linked to U.S. fears that Russian technology and know-how could help Iran develop nuclear weapons mean NASA cannot pay Roskosmos, but U.S. lawmakers are considering lifting the ban.

Nobody expects McArthur to spin round space forever.