TASS: Space tourists may begin to make orbital flights again starting from 2019-2020, the CEO of Russia’s space corporation Roscosmos, Igor Komarov, told TASS in an interview on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.
“The program for space flights to the ISS is clear for two years to come. We have no plans for putting tourists in space for the time being. True, space tourism is possible in principle, but only starting from 2019-2020. Discussions are underway,” he said.
Earlier, Komarov told TASS in an interview Roscosmos might create a joint brand with foreign partners, including those in the US, for organizing space tourism.
So far only seven tourists have traveled to space (one of them twice). All carried out orbital flights on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. British vocalist Sarah Brightman was going to become an eighth tourist only to change her mind several months before the launch date in September 2015. Her backup Shatoshi Takamatsu, a businessman from Japan, said he might be prepared to consider the possibility of a space flight again in several years’ time.
