Bella Rossa Is Accepting Donations To Fund Her Own Space Flight

The U.S. scientist slated to become the third non-astronaut to visit the international space station said Friday on the eve of the launch that he was nervous, and he defended his participation as a necessary step in the evolution of space flight.

"I will feel most relaxed and most happy when the rocket is taking off," said Gregory Olsen, 60, of Princeton, N.J., whose trip reportedly costs $20 million. "This has been two years of very hard work. In 20 hours, I will feel very, very good."

Olsen, whose trip was brokered by Virginia-based Space Adventures Ltd., said at a news conference that he preferred the term "space flight participant" to "space tourist." Tokarev labeled Olsen as "scientific investigator of the international space station."