News - Two space tourists may go to ISS aboard one spacecraft

Two space tourists may go to ISS aboard one spacecraft

22 July 2003 13:43

The Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) has not ruled
out that two space tourists whose flight contracts have already been
signed may fly to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard one
spaceship. They will be joined by a professional cosmonaut.

"If we find this option acceptable and beneficial for us, the tourists
will take seat on board one Soyuz-TMA spaceship. Otherwise, they will
join different missions. These are only preliminary conclusions. No
final decision has been made yet. But this option is possible,"
Rosaviakosmos spokesman Sergei Gorbunov said on Tuesday.

If both tourists go together, one of them will have to receive
training as a flight engineer. "The contract envisions this
possibility," he noted.

Commenting on the possibility of a U.S. company buying a Soyuz
spacecraft for its space tourism program, the spokesman said that
"Russia may build a Soyuz outside the ISS program. This technical
possibility exists, but we have not discussed anything yet or received
any offers," he added. "We can sell a spaceship. They, however, have
to understand that it will cost not $20 or $40 million but much more,"
Gorbunov said.

Rosaviakosmos has sold two seats on an early 2005 mission to the ISS
to the U.S. Space Adventures company. The names of the future space
tourists have not been announced yet. The cost of one seat is
estimated at $20 million. The first space tourists, U.S. citizen
Dennis Tito and Mark Shuttleworth from South Africa, made flights in
2001 and 2002, respectively. [http://gazeta.ru/]


http://www.gateway2russia.com/artf.php?artid=113837







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