April 28, 2001: The 1st Space Tourist

April 28, 2001: Dennis Tito becomes the 1st "space tourist." The 60-year-old native of Queens, New York City is launched as part of the crew of Soyuz TM-32.

Tito built an investment empire in Los Angeles. But he wasn't exactly a "tourist." He wasn't just some rich guy buying the thrill of a lifetime. He had some qualifications. He had a Bachelor of Science degree in astronautics and aeronautics from New York University (NYU), had a Master of Science degree in engineering science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and had worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Washington.

He paid the Russian Federal Space Agency $20 million to fly on Soyuz TM-32. It docked at the International Space Station. Over 8 days, Tito performed several scientific experiments in orbit that he said would be useful for his company and business. He then boarded Soyuz TM-31, which had been docked at the ISS since October 31, 2000, and safely returned to Earth on May 6, 2001.

Soyuz TM-32 remained docked at the ISS until October 31, 2001 -- meaning that there were Americans and Soviets aboard the ISS during the terrorist attacks on September 11.

In February 2013, Tito announced his intention to send a privately financed spaceflight to Mars by 2018, stating that the technology is already in place, and that the issues that need to be overcome are only the requirements of the rigor of a 501-day trip on a psychological and physical level for the human crew.

However, in November 2013, Tito and other Mars Inspiration team members admitted that their plan was impossible without significant levels of assistance and funding from NASA.

*

April 28, 2001 was a Saturday. This was also the day that 61*, Billy Crystal's film tribute to the 1961 New York Yankees, premiered on HBO. I have a separate entry for that event.

And this turned out to be an interesting day in Yankee history for a 2nd reason: Future shortstop Anthony Volpe was born.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-6 at Yankee Stadium. Ted Lilly outpitched Tim Hudson. Chuck Knoblauch went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Paul O'Neill went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Derek Jeter went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Benny Agbayani singled Desi Relaford home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning, making Armando Benítez a winning pitcher, in relief of Rick Reed.

The Mets got home runs from Mike Piazza and Joe McEwing; and 3 hits each from Relaford, McEwing and Jay Payton. The Cardinals got home runs from Jim Edmonds, J.D. Drew, Édgar Rentería, and rookie sensation Albert Pujols -- but not from Mark McGwire, entering what turned out to be his final season. He was injured from April 15 to May 28.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. 

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 7-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-5 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Rookie sensation Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-6.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Montreal Expos, 8-4 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Cal Ripken, in his final season, went 1-for-4.

* The Houston Astros beat the Florida Marlins, 6-4 at Enron Field (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Colorado Rockies, 9-4 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-1 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix. Despite 12 strikeouts, Randy Johnson was outpitched by Tom Glavine.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-1 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Tony Gwynn, in his final season, did not play, but Rickey Henderson went 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 stolen bases for the Padres.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-6 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-0 at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Shawn Estes pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Félix Rodríguez and Robb Nenn each pitched a perfect inning. Barry Bonds did not play.

Football was out of season. There were 4 games played in the NBA Playoffs:

* The Orlando Magic beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 121-116 in overtime at the TD Waterhouse Centre (formerly the Orlando Arena). Tracy McGrady led all scorers on the day with 42 points for the Magic.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers, 92-87 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. Allen Iverson scored 32 points for the Sixers. Reggie Miller scored 35 in defeat for the Pacers.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz, 94-91 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 for the Mavs.

* And the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the San Antonio Spurs, 93-84 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

And there were 3 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-5 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands. Randy McKay scored the winning goal, 5:31 into overtime.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* And the Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.