21 July 2003 21:27
Russian space agency willing to build a spacecraft for tourists
Moscow, 21 July: Vyacheslav Mikhaylichenko, a spokesman for the Russian Aerospace Agency told ITAR-TASS today that
the agency is ready to sell a Soyuz manned spacecraft to launch tourists [into space].
He said that the US company Space Adventures, which organizes journeys to the International Space Station (ISS), had
expressed interest in buying the Soyuz. By agreement with the Russian Aerospace Agency, the company has put up two
tickets to space for sale for 2004-2005, one of which has already been sold. However, the exact days of flights cannot
be determined before the resumption of the shuttle flights, suspended after the loss of Columbia, Mikhaylichenko said.
"The company may order the construction of its own spacecraft this year so as not to wait for vacant seats for
tourists aboard Soyuz spacecraft, which, in the first place, will be used to deliver main crews for the ISS and visiting
missions," he said. Technically, the Russian side is ready to build a "tourist" spacecraft in two years
and include its launch in the annual launch plan, Mikhaylichenko said.
"On a three-seat Soyuz, piloted by a professional cosmonaut, it will be possible to send into orbit two tourists
at a time," Mikhaylichenko said. Pre-flight training of ticket holders teamed with an cosmonaut "guide"
would take three to six months, he said.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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