Just five days before blast off, Russia has promised Dennis Tito that his eight-day visit to the International Space Station will go ahead. Nasa, however, has other ideas.

The US space agency, which wants Mr Tito, 60, to sign an agreement promising not to sue if anything goes wrong and to reimburse if he breaks anything, says talks are continuing. Mr Tito has paid £13.9m for the privilege of becoming the first space tourist.

Tito, a multimillionaire California businessman and former NASA employee, was to ride a Russian Soyuz space taxi to the station. Launch was scheduled for Saturday, with arrival at the station set for April 30.