Soyuz spacecraft customized for tourists trips

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – A Russian spacecraft, Soyuz, will be customized for travel to the International Space Station (ISS) so that only one person to pilot it rather than three crew members, Sergei Krikalev, the executive director for the spacecraft in the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, said.

“A ship for a specialised mission is being customised so that it will be easier for one person to pilot it, and some modes will not be duplicated as they are supposed to be. These are interface tweaks, to make it more convenient for a one-person crew”, Krikalev told reporters on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress, Sputnik news agency reported as quoted by Indonesia Window here, Thursday.

The Roscosmos’ executive added that no contract had been signed with anyone to fly the spacecraft. However, he or she must be an experienced astronaut or cosmonaut.

The spacecraft might even be modified to be able to fly without having to docking with ISS.

The spacecraft is being built in partnership with the US space tourism company, Space Adventures. The two companies have signed an agreement to launch two tourists to ISS in 2021.

The Russian private company Kosmokurs, which is currently developing suborbital space travel flights, began the first test of its rocket and space technology in May 2019.

The ship is being built in partnership with US space tourism company Space Adventures. The two companies have signed a deal to launch two tourists to the ISS in 2021.

The Russian private company Kosmokurs, which is currently developing suborbital space tourism flights, began the first tests of its rocket and space technology in May 2019.

According to Kosmokurs, a ticket for a space flight aboard Russia’s first reusable suborbital commercial system would cost around US$200,000-US$250,000.

Reporting by Indonesia Window