Space Tourists
The race to get tourists into space is on
In 2002, 28-year old internet tycoon Mark Shuttleworth became the first man to blast off in a spaceship as a paying guest. The price tag? A cool 20 million US dollars. With both America and Russia suffering drastic cuts in funding for their space programs, enterprising Russians have taken the lead in the latest space race - the race for tourists.
As well as Shuttleworth's trip, they've designed a spacecraft capable of taking tourists on a quick orbit of the earth for a more affordable $100,000. They predict that in 10 to 15 years time such flights will be widely available. We go into the Russian space training centre, Star City, to watch as Shuttleworth prepares for his adventure, learning to put on a spacesuit in zero gravity. We also talk to former cosmonauts such as Georgi Grechko who oppose the space Program's commercialisation and question the enterprise's safety. Yet for men such as Frank Sietzen, space travel cannot be too commercial. He welcomes the time when shuttles are sponsored by Pepsi and there's a Macdonalds sign on the International Space Centre.
FULL SYNOPSIS
Produced by ABC Australia