Some reading this might be thinking "Darn, if you only knew then what you know now, you could have gotten his autograph!"

Others, in response to those above, might be asking "Why?"

I am not sure which side of the readership I identify with.

Those who know me, know I am an equal opportunity, astronaut and cosmonaut autograph collector. I define my collecting goals as "seeking the signature of any individual, from any country, who has ever been selected for space flight."

Up until now, that neatly included every individual to fly into space, as well as a large group of test pilots, scientists, and other professionals who were selected for a program but for one reason or another were never assigned a flight.

Dennis Tito does not fit this definition.

Tito was never selected. He just decided he wanted to go, and through a combination of good timing, good luck, and good financial backing, his wish was fulfilled. He was simply a paying passenger, much like those who have paid to fly aboard high performance military jets or to dive aboard deep sea submarines.

Does the simple fact that Tito flew in space qualify his autograph to be included in an astronaut and cosmonaut collection? The answer may be more complicated than you think.

Take for example, the obvious: Dennis Tito is the world's first space tourist. Most autograph collectors will agree that collecting the "firsts" is always desirable, as is demonstrated by the demand for autographs of Gagarin and Armstrong.

But is Tito really the first? Placing aside the Space Shuttle flights of payload specialists such as Charles Walker and Jake Garn (and out of respect, the late Christa McAuliffe), there have been several others who have flown with nothing more than their financial backing as justification. Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan al-Saud, Japanese reporter Toyohiro Akiyama, and UK contest winner Helen Sharman all fall into this category.

The primary difference then is the source of the flight's funding. Dennis Tito is the world's first self-financed space tourist.

If you can accept the above reasoning, and still seek to collect the autographs of al-Saud, Akiyama, and Sharman, then there should be no question as to whether to collect Tito.

Or is there?

The question remains, where do we draw the line? When do astronauts cease being heroes and start being passengers?

If we look toward aviation history for guidance, most collectors would agree that the autographs of Charles Lindbergh and Chuck Yeager are desirable. Yet, no one collects the autographs of every trans-Atlantic airline pilot nor do many (if any) collect today's military test pilots. Somewhere along the course of history, a distinction was made between trail blazer and follower.

Such a division has yet to clearly present itself among those who fly into space. Some collectors draw the line between pre- and post- Space Shuttle eras, but of those that do, many will admit that their decision was based on historical significance rather than the status of today's astronaut corps. Tito presented our first test case as to who is and who is not an astronaut.

It is possible that Tito's place within our collections might not become clear until several more tourists fly. Depending on how events proceed, Tito may remain an oddity for years to come, allowing (ironically) justification for seeking his signature.

Eventually though, there will be others, and as that number increases, collectors will face a tough decision. A distinction will need to be made between those sent to space to conduct research and those simply there for the experience. Without this division, our collections will become unwieldy as undoubtedly the number of tourists will grow to dwarf the explorers.

So, where does that leave us with Tito?

Is he worthy of a place in our collections now, only to be removed in the future? Or should we start drawing the "line in the sand" now?

Personally, I would welcome a move by the space collecting community to start defining our hobby. Realistically though, these issues will most likely go answered for some time to come.