With tickets to the Russian Space Station Mir on sale now for several weeks, Valery Korzun, head of the Russian cosmonaut corps, told the Russian news agency Itar-Tass on Monday, “there have been no offers for this from anyone yet. Not a single tourist is yet to begin training for a commercial flight to the Mir space station.”
Itar-Tass reported Korzun as saying training for the first commercial space tourist will only be undertaken if the candidate meets requirements for good health, and is capable of paying for training sessions and the subsequent flight to the orbital station.
No figure was given for the cost of the flight, but earlier reports suggested a price tag of around $20 million was in the ballpark.
Meanwhile, five cosmonaut crews are now undergoing training for the International Space Station, with two crews being trained for hand operation of spacecraft docking – should automatic equipment fail.
Cosmonauts of the 28th Russia mission to the Mir space station — Sergei Zaletin, Alexander Kaleri and actor Vladimir Steklov — were reported by Itar-Tass as being ready for a flight to Mir this April 3.
However, Steklov’s flight may now be question, due to payment delays by foreign partners.
