India is looking at the space toruist launch business in a serious way by utilization of an idea of Virginia-based Space Adventures: buy a Soyuz booster and spacecraft and launch tourists. It has been reported today that a deal is being hammered together between the Russian space agency Roskosmos and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)."Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has applied for acquiring a spaceship for sending space tourists," Russian space agency spokesman Alexei Krasnov said adding that "It depends on the route and duration of the flight, which are yet to be finalised."
During President Dmitry Medvedev's maiden India visit last year Moscow and New Delhi inked a space accord, under which Russia will help ISRO in training Indian astronauts and provide know-how for building indigenous spaceship for the national programme of space flights.
It appears that India is going to use the same development model employed by the Chinese with the Russians a few years ago: reverse engineer and improve and wah-lah: a new and improved Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft.
What impact the India-Russia space contract may have on the efforts of Space Adventures, Ltd. commercial launch contracts with Roskosmos to fly future space tourists is not known - save that the demand for the Soyuz is going UP and UP. Seven space flight participants have flown to the International Space Station by means of a Soyuz brokered through Space Adventures in Virginia since mid-2001. More.
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