Space Adventures’ CEO Eric Anderson believes that his company will have signed up the first tourists for their proposed circumlunar mission by the end of this year. Anderson made the comments last week at the Flight School conference in Colorado, according to SPACE.com. That’s a bit later than what Anderson said a month ago at the ISDC, when said he was working with a few prospective customers over the next few months to sign them up for the flight. The ticket still costs $100 million each, with two available for the flight.
Anderson added that, on the orbital front, his company is working with the Russian space agency Roskosmos to try and increase the number of Soyuz flights to provide more flight opportunities for space tourists. Also, he hopes that the first tourist spacewalk from the ISS could take place in 2009.
When I win the Powerball Lottery, I hope to win enough money to pay my way onto the Space Station. God knows it’s the only was that I’m paying my way in to Space.
I hate how long this is all taking. We all know they’re not going to get their circumlunar flight before like 2015, no matter how soon they sign the paperwork. First they have to convince Russia to make it official they plan to go along with it; then convince them to fund it, since the $100 million probably doesn’t pay for development; then Roscosmos has to modify Soyuz and build a TLI stage; then they have to launch a trial run and the run has to succeed; then maybe a year later they’ll do the real thing. Oh, and don’t forget that the two people who sign the deal have to meet all the medical and training requirements for the years while the whole thing is taking shape, which will probably be enhanced for a mission of such magnitude to Russian national pride. If one of them shows up with problems like what happened to Daisuke Enomoto, the whole thing is off. People who can afford that kind of price tag don’t grow on trees. Delays, delays, delays. ARGH!
You said it Manic Marvel.
A successful TLI injection with people on board is serious business.
I still bet this happens before CEV ever enters into Lunar orbit – Hell, I wouldn’t rule out the possiblity that it happens before first flight of CEV.
CEV probably isn’t flying before 2015 either.
Totally agree on the CEV. Nasa just does not move as fast as it did in the 60’s.