Posted: Tue, Jan 22, 2002, 12:36 AM ET (0536 GMT)
There may be a space tourist on each Soyuz taxi flight to the International Space Station in the foreseeable future, SPACE.com recently reported. According to the article, Russian officials say they are "99 percent sure" that they will be able to sell a seat on a Soyuz taxi flight this fall to a tourist. The flight would be similar to the one Dennis Tito took last year and Mark Shuttleworth is taking in April. Rosaviakosmos officials said they are working with Space Adventures, an American space tourism company, to identify prospective passengers and arrange deals. The going cost for the flight is $20 million, which substantially but not completely pays for the Soyuz mission. Disagreements with NASA and the other ISS partners, a major problem before Tito's flight last year, have been worked out as the partners have worked out criteria for visits to the station by non-professionals.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article