Space Adventures pioneered the program that has to date launched eight private individuals into orbital space flight and now they’re looking to expand their offerings to include trips around the moon by 2015. The company says it has already sold one of two seats available for the flight. It would use a Soyuz-TMA spacecraft with modifications that include the addition of a second habitation module. That module would rendezvous with the spacecraft in low-Earth orbit. Space Adventures has forecast the number of passengers it might help carry into orbital space by 2020 and that number might be larger than you think.
The company estimates that most of 140 private individuals will have ample motive and money to take a trip into orbital space by the end of the decade. The remainder will win their spot either literally (by lottery) or by serving as non-profit researchers or journalists. Space Adventures hopes to offer a host of space-travel options but stipulates that for most to become reality the next ten years will need to see breakthrough discoveries and innovative propulsion solutions. Destinations, says the company, “would include the International Space Station, commercial space stations and orbital free-flys.”
