Introduction to Space Exploration - Making Money In Space

Space exploration is an expensive undertaking. During the late 1980s the Soviet space program was in dire need of money. The Soviet Union was splintering into individual nations and funds for space travel were in short supply. In 1990 the agency received $28 million from a Japanese media company to take one of their journalists aboard the space station Mir. A year later a London bank paid an undisclosed amount of money to allow a British woman to spend a "space vacation" aboard Mir.

In 2001 the Russian space agency Rosaviakosmos charged an American businessman $15 million for a "space vacation" aboard the International Space Station. The next year Rosaviakosmos raised the price. A South African space tourist paid $20 million to visit the ISS.

Russia's ISS partners (including the U.S.) have not shown any interest in space tourism. The United States initially refused to let tourists aboard the ISS, but relented after heated negotiations with Rosaviakosmos.

The Russian agency has stated publicly that it hopes to develop space tourism as a thriving business. In 2004 Rosaviakosmos announced a new program in which two FIGURE 1.3
Number of space launches worldwide, 1998-2003 space tourists can stay aboard the ISS at the same time. Rosaviakosmos plans to market the trip as the ultimate travel option for honeymooning couples.

Rosaviakosmos operates tourist trips through a contract with an American company called Space Adventures. The company also plans to market suborbital flights aboard a new space plane being developed by a Russian contractor. In 2004 Space Adventures announced that it had already sold more than one hundred tickets at nearly $100,000 each for a ride aboard the plane, which will travel to an altitude just over sixty-two miles from Earth. Passenger flights are expected to begin in 2005 or 2006.

Those people who do not make it into space during their lifetime also have another option. Several companies around the world offer services where the cremated ashes of loved one can be carried into space. The service costs anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000.