By Stuart Fox Posted 03.04.2010 at 3:56 pm 1 Comment

Charles Simonyi Prepares for Space Courtesy of Space Adventures and Charles Simonyi

Well, it looks like Charles Simonyi might have to wait a while for a third trip, because space tourism is going on hiatus. With the shuttle's cancellation leaving Russia as the only country able to service the International Space Station (ISS), the Russian government has announced it will no longer let civilians hitch a ride on Soyuz flights.

Related Articles

Space Tourism Claims Its First Lives
The Trip Was So Nice, He’s Going Up Twice: Q&A With a Billionaire Space Tourist
Little Love For Space Tourism at AAAS

Tags

Technology, Stuart Fox, international space station, ISS, nasa, russia, Space, space shuttle, space tourism
Due to obsolescence and budget cuts, NASA's Space Shuttle will cease flying at the end of the year. That retirement places a great deal of pressure on the Russian space program. Until the arrival of the Shuttle's replacement, Russia needs to conserve space on any and all flights to meet the needs of the ISS. That means no seats for tourists.

Right now, the US aims to have the Shuttle's replacement flying by 2014. However, funding problems, a fundamental reordering of NASA's priorities, and the general inefficiency of government aerospace programs means NASA's new spacecraft probably won't arrive until well after that date.

But look on the bright side. This delay buys you the time needed to save up enough money to actually become a space tourist! It only cost around $30 million to fly to the ISS, so start checking those couch cushions for loose change right away.

[Reuters]

1 Comment

Link to this comment
Dustin2127
03/04/10 at 7:05 pm

Hey, at least it could enable independently space faring space tourism companies (mouthful) to start competing. I'd guess that it would cost much less than 30 million a ticket on a spacex flight to the ISS though (assuming 3+ passengers per capsule)


138 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.

Innovation Challenges

Make your ideas part of the revolution
Learn morePowered by Innocentive



Popular Science+ For iPad

Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page



Download Our App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed


February 2012: The Future of Fun

Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?


circ-top-header.gif
circ-cover.gif
bmxmag-ps