Russia plans to take first tourist on space walk in 2023
Russia's Energia space corporation said on Thursday it will take the first tourist on a space walk in 2023, under the terms of a new contract with a US partner.
Energia has signed a contract with Space Adventures, which promises to take two space tourists to the International Space Station that year.
The announcement comes days after NASA signed a deal with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism company to promote private missions to the station after a special training programme in the US.
It also follows the first successful mission by Elon Musk's SpaceX last month to bring astronauts to the station on a reusable Crew Dragon spacecraft, ending nearly a decade of Russia holding a monopoly on shuttling humans to orbit.
Russia's Energia space corporation said on Thursday it will take the first tourist on a space walk in 2023, under the terms of a new contract with a US partner.
Energia has signed a contract with Space Adventures, which promises to take two space tourists to the International Space Station that year.
The announcement comes days after NASA signed a deal with Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism company to promote private missions to the station after a special training programme in the US.
It also follows the first successful mission by Elon Musk's SpaceX last month to bring astronauts to the station on a reusable Crew Dragon spacecraft, ending nearly a decade of Russia holding a monopoly on shuttling humans to orbit.