Virginia-based Space Adventures, Ltd. may not gain access to a privately contracted Soyuz tourist launch until 2014 Russian Space Agency Alexey Krasnov told Flightglobal's Rob Coppinger in South Korea for the the International Astronautical Congress last week.Krasnov explained that enabling a private Soyuz flight would take four or five years because the vehicle's operations have to change and the pilot's training regime has to be altered. This is because there would be one pilot and two tourists and not one other cosmonaut and one passenger in remarks to Coppinger.
Space Adventures has been touting the possibilities of working with the Russians for private tourist flights utilizing extra Soyuz boosters. India's space officials have also been in contact with the Russian space agency requesting assistance and to use the Soyuz for space tourist flights. Russians, however, are apt to adapt favorably to any changing condition that would open the market to extra seats for the private sector.
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