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October 28, 2005
Around the Moon
Author .::. Maxx
Those, who have already saved $200000 to try the suborbital flight around the Earth, can get even more. According to the words of the new President of S.P.Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia Nikolaj Sevastianov there exist some intentions to suggest flying around the Moon to the space tourists. The ticket will cost one hundred million dollars.
The representative of RSC has announced that the trip will start from Baikonur spacedrome on the spacecraft "Soyuz-TMA" on the rocket carrier "Soyuz". The tourist will spend the first week on the ISS. Then, together with two professional spacemen the tourist will fly around the Moon at 100- 200 km from its surface. This flight will be realized with the help of the additional dispersal "DM" block, worked out and made by RSC Energia. This block may be delivered to the orbit by the heavy rocket "Proton" or the rocket "Zenit".
Due to the usage of the existing systems and components, "Energia" intents to prepare the start for 1,5 - 2 years. The tourist will pay about one hundred million dollars.
It's known that Soyuz spacecrafts have been basically worked out within Russian Moon program and it's quite possible to prepare modern Soyuz- TM spacecrafts for the Moonflight.
It should be noticed that the project of flying around the Moon has already been suggested by CSI company. It happened about a year ago.
No doubt that there will be people having desire to try this kind of flight. Let us hope that it's not just the PR- affair of the new RSC chief manager, and the "Energia" is really intending to make this idea true. And, as it was planned 40 years ago, our spaceship will finally fly to the Moon.
P.S. I was surprised by the following words in "Izvestia": "... the tourist will not be able to see the back side of the Moon, the fly round will take place over the visible satellite part". Can anyone explain what they meant?
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Posted by Xena at October 28, 2005 1:11 PM
