LAUNCH TOUR
Imagine a sound so powerful that you feel it reverberating throughout your entire body as you stand in the midst of the sparsely inhabited plains of Central Asia. This is the sound of a high-performance Soyuz rocket carrying its crew of three space explorers into orbit, and the moment will stay with you forever.
Whether you are contemplating your own flight to space, or simply looking for a hard to find experience, this is a great opportunity to learn about the Russian manned spaceflight program by watching the preparations for launch first-hand.
PROGRAM DETAILS
- Travel from Moscow to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard Space Adventures’ chartered jet.
- See the rocket on the launch stand from a distance of less than 100m.
- Witness the final ceremonies before the launch — traditions that date back to the first space explorers – including the official report of the crew.
- Watch the launch of the Soyuz-FG booster rocket from the VIP viewing stand, less than 1 mile from the launch pad.
INCLUSIONS
- Luxury transfers to/from airport in Moscow
- Five-star hotel accommodation in downtown Moscow, and in a local hotel in Baikonur
- Private chartered flight to/from Baikonur
- Transfers and guided tours
- Launch security clearance processing
- Baikonur customs and immigration processing.
CIRCUMLUNAR MISSION
Only 24 people have ever left Earth orbit and journeyed close to the Moon. The last people to walk on the Moon were Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, who left the Moon’s surface on December 14, 1972 and returned to Earth in their Apollo spacecraft. Since then no one has been closer to the Moon than low-Earth orbit.
We will take you to within a few hundred kilometres of the Moon’s surface. You will see the illuminated far side of the Moon, and then witness the amazing sight of the Earth rising above the surface of the Moon.
Mankind can only progress to become a space faring race by taking the small steps necessary to reduce the costs of access to space. This mission will be one of those small, but very significant steps
SPACE STATION
The International Space Station (ISS) is mankind’s only permanently manned outpost. In low-Earth orbit it circles the Earth every 90 minutes.
A visit to the ISS is like no other experience. When you reach Earth orbit you will be traveling at 17,500 miles per hour, over 250 miles above the Earth’s surface and you will be weightless, floating inside your spacecraft.
Space Adventures has arranged all eight of the flights to space completed by private citizens to date. All our clients have flown to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft and have lived and worked alongside professional astronauts for 10 days or more.
Since the dawn of manned spaceflight, over 550 people have travelled to space – we are pleased to be able to offer you the opportunity to be the next.
GETTING TO SPACE – SOYUZ SPACECRAFT
The Russian Soyuz is the latest in a family of spacecraft that has successfully flown nearly 150 times in a row. It can accommodate three people and has carried both private and professional astronauts to the International Space Station. It launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the Soyuz booster rocket.
Space Adventures is currently offering a flight for two private astronauts on the Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station targeted to launch in 2023. One of the participants can have the option of completing a spacewalk.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
The International Space Station is permanently crewed by professional astronauts from the space station partner countries. The size of the crew ranges from 4 to up to 12 professional astronauts. It has an internal volume approximately the same size as a Boeing 777 aircraft, so there is plenty of space for privacy when needed.
TRAINING AND PREPARATION
While the highlight is obviously the spaceflight itself, the training and preparation is a very rewarding experience. Space Adventures will ensure you are appropriately trained and prepared using state of the art facilities, simulators, and methods.
PRICE
The price of the spaceflight depends on a number of factors and we are happy to discuss with you further. Please contact us for details.
YOUR TIME IN SPACE
You will spend approximately 10 days in space, during which time you are principally free to do as you choose. Space Adventures has developed a suite of mission programs you can elect to participate in focusing on science education, on going human factor research or commercial activities.
SPACEWALK
A spacewalk is one of the pinnacles of human spaceflight. Even for professional astronauts, the opportunity to leave the space station and float above the Earth is a rare and exhilarating experience.
It is best described by Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield:
“Nothing compares to being alone in the Universe; to that moment of opening the hatch and pulling yourself outside into the Universe. It is like coming around a corner and seeing the most magnificent sunset of your life, from one horizon to the other where it looks like the whole sky is on fire and there are all those colours, and the sun’s rays look like some great painting up over your head. You just want to open your eyes wide and try to look around at the image, and just try and soak it up. It’s like that all the time.
But then you notice that even though it is huge and capable [the International Space Station], it’s just a speck between everything which is on your left and all the colours and textures of our planet that are just pouring next to you on the right. And you are this little peephole of a microcosm in between those two things, both physically and historically. And you’re very much aware of that the whole time. I’m sort of gushing, but that’s what a spacewalk feels like. It is infinitely worth all the thousands of steps it takes to get there. It’s a great, great thing – I recommend it very highly.”
MISSION DETAIL
One of the participants on a 2023 Soyuz mission to the International Space Station will have the opportunity to conduct a spacewalk. Spaceflight training will be extended for a few weeks to allow time to prepare for a walk in space.
The training is conducted at the same location – the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Moscow – as the majority of the spaceflight training. Spacewalk training involves familiarization with the operation of the Orlan spacesuit and how the spacewalk is conducted.
The best place to simulate the environment of open space is underwater, so a lot of the training will be completed in Star City’s neutral buoyancy facility, where a full-scale mock-up of the ISS modules is submerged. Every step of the process of exiting and re-enter the space station in the Orlan space suit is extensively trained for.
The stay in space will be approximately two weeks to allow time to the prepare for and perform the spacewalk.