Russia’s space agency Roscosmos has re-entered the space tourism market and this time will offer one person the chance to spacewalk.
The agency on Thursday announced a new deal with US outfit Space Adventures to take two people to the International Space Station atop a Soyuz rocket. One of the tourists, according to Space Adventures’ announcement, “will have an opportunity to conduct a spacewalk outside the space station, becoming the first private citizen in history to experience open space.”
The spacewalking tourist will be accompanied by a professional Russian cosmonaut.
The two companies have previously launched seven space tourists including Ubuntu daddy Mark Shuttleworth in 2002. Your correspondent interviewed him about the experience in 2005 and he was still clearly awed by the power of the Soyuz, weightlessness and the views from above, to the extent that he said a sub-orbital tourist flight with the likes of Virgin Galactic held little appeal.
The trip will see the pair of tourists spend 14 days in the Russian module of the ISS.
Source: Russia returns to space tourism and offers a first citizen spacewalk • The Register
Robin Edgar
Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft