Russia returns to space tourism and offers a first citizen spacewalk

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 …

[LucreLout]

Trip of a lifetime....

... I mean, Greta will have a meltdown so that's a definite plus, and you're in space for 2 weeks actually floating about and possibly assisting with science n stuff.

[MacroRodent]

Re: Trip of a lifetime....

> you're in space for 2 weeks actually floating about and possibly assisting with science n stuff.

More likely the tourist will just be getting in the way of the astronauts doing useful stuff.

[Neil Barnes]

The price?

Porobably of the 'if you have to ask you can't afford it' (so that's me out) but think of the airmiles!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: The price?

"think of the airmiles"

I wouldn't bother, it's probably only about a hundred up, and a hundred down...

[Neil Barnes]

Re: The price?

Depends how you add it up: 25,000 miles every ninety minutes for a fortnight... about five and a half million miles right there :)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: The price?

Not much air you're travelling through whilst doing those miles though.... :-)

[MiguelC]

Re: The price?

*erm* 25000 * 24 / 1.5 * 14 = 5.6 million miles

what kind of upgrade can you get on your Soyuz trip? caviar-on-toast in a tube instead of borshch? :)

[John Jennings]

I guess

Roscosmanos have a few seats available now ....

[BebopWeBop]

I wonder whether they are still insisting on the long training beforehand (I seem to remember many months being reported in the past).

[Julz]

Probably a good idea to know enough Russian to understand the glyphs that flash up as the soyuz flings you into an unexpected ballistic trajectory...

[John Brown (no body)]

I can't imagine even the Russians putting an untrained "tourist" is a spacesuit and taking them for a spacewalk. Or maybe I can.... :-)

[John Jennings]

Yes

I believe it is mandatory - it was for the last ones - guts of a year I read somewhere. Perhaps longer for the spacewalk.

NASA will require the same, it seems, after giving the training contract to Virgin.

[spold]

Spacewalks for Space Tourists...

I'm sorry our records show that your reservation was only until today.... [shove]

[Gene Cash]

"becoming the first private citizen in history to experience open space"

Um, Bob Behnken of SpaceX is supposed to do that very soon, as he's slated to do an EVA to replace batteries.

He's a private citizen.

[Dvon of Edzore]

Re: "becoming the first private citizen in history to experience open space"

Not exactly. US Air Force Colonel and NASA Astronaut, according to the official bio.

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/robert-l-behnken/biography