The tourist flight “will forge a path to making
spaceflight possible for all people who dream
of it,” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said
in a statement.
Elon Musk’s California-based SpaceX already is
dabbling in space tourism, signing on a Japanese
billionaire to fly to the moon in three or so years.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s
Virgin Galactic also plan tourist trips to space, but
these will be brief up-and-downs, not orbital.
SpaceX will use the same kind of Dragon
capsule that will launch NASA astronauts to the
space station, possibly in another few months.
The capsule has flown only once in space so far,
making its debut last year in a successful test
flight without a crew.
Space Adventures spokeswoman Stacey Tearne
said the tourist flight could occur in the last
quarter of 2021. The company is in discussions
with “several potential clients.”
No professional pilot or astronaut will be
required, Tearne said, because the Dragon is
fully autonomous. But passengers will be able
to control the spacecraft if required, she said in
an email.
The cost will be in line with previous tourist
flights, she said. Canadian billionaire Guy
Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil, paid $35
million for a 1 1/2-week space station flight in
- He said from orbit that it was “worth every
penny and more.”
Like all previous space tourists, he launched on a
Russian rocket from Kazakhstan.
This private Dragon flight from Cape Canaveral
will be shorter, lasting up to five days, according
to Tearne.