Russia plans on using the empty seats aboard its Soyuz spacecraft to <a href="http://tass.ru/en/russia/784497" target="_blank">send tourists to space from 2018</a>, following the expected termination of its <a href="/nasa" target="_blank">Nasa</a> contract to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
The move is a financial necessity for Roscosmos, since it expects its US counterpart to begin relying on private companies -- including SpaceX and Boeing -- to send American crews to space.
Nasa has depended on Soyuz for delivery of its astronauts to the ISS since 2011, when the Space Shuttle was retired from service. To make up the shortfall in its budget -- it costs <a href="http://spacenews.com/nasa-issues-sole-source-notice-for-six-soyuz-seats/"
target="_blank">around $76m</a> (£50m) to train and send each astronaut -- the Russian space agency said it will resume "short-term commercial expeditions to the Russian segment of the ISS". The plans were revealed in a quarterly report (published by Russian newspaper Izvestia) from Energia, a Roscosmos subsidiary that manufactures the Soyuz rockets.
The move is not entirely unexpected for Roscosmos. Between 2001 and 2009 it sent seven tourists to the ISS, and <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/11/sarah-brightman-to-iss"
target="_blank">British soprano Sarah Brightman</a> is in training for a private flight later this year at reported personal cost of
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-31813632" target="_blank">£34m</a> (potentially closer to the cost Russia can expect to see from tourism). The Nasa contract could still be renewed, of course -- depending on the results of private manned capsule tests -- but Roscosmos is keeping its options open in light of the booming private space sector.
In May 2014, SpaceX founder Elon Musk <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-05-30/musk-says-spacex-reusable-capsule-could-ferry-astronauts-by-2016"
target="_blank">predicted</a> that manned missions could take place from 2016 aboard its Dragon V2 Vehicle, well in time for the Russian contract termination. Nasa is confident too, and has already used the SpaceX Dragon cargo shop and Falcon 9 rocket for ISS resupply missions. SpaceX's longterm goal is to engineer a recoverable rocket launcher that could help reduce costs to space agencies even further. Boeing, meanwhile, has been working on its less dramatically named CST-100 spacecraft for decades, and is aiming for a late 2017 manned test flight. Both organisations are working in tandem with Nasa, with the space agency helping foot the $1 billion it will cost to finish Dragon V2.
It is still possible, however, that Nasa will want to extend its Soyuz contract. In February it was revealed that the agency planned to reserve six seats aboard Soyuz in 2018, in case SpaceX and Boeing are not ready in time.
Meanwhile, Roscosmos is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/26/russia-outlines-breakaway-plans-to-build-national-space-station"
target="_blank">considering plans for its own national space station</a>, in part using Russian modules from the ISS.
Russia has committed to supporting the international outpost until at least 2024, however the ageing station could be retired before then if further international support is not agreed.
Nasa administrator Charles Bolden has repeatedly assured the public that US political relations with Russia do not impact space collaborations, but the timing will seem suspect to some. In reality, the US simply needs more capacity than Soyuz can supply, and Russia has not pulled out of its ongoing collaborations.
Russia, meanwhile, is plugging away with its own manned and unmanned space programs, with two separate launches scheduled for Friday 27 March. One mission will send three astronauts to the ISS, while the second is due to take two European satellites into orbit. The latter is significant for the European Space Agency, forming part of its much-hyped, 30-satelllite <a href="/galileo" target="_blank">Galileo</a> alternative to GPS. The first satellite in the constellation launched in 2011, and the full fleet is slated to be operational by 2019. Friday's launch from the ESA's French Guinea spaceport will see the seventh and eighth satellites reach orbit.
ESA is also working with Roscosmos on the Exomars mission, to which the UK's own space agency has committed £47.7m in funding. The first stage will include the launch of an orbiter in January 2016, and the launch of the ExoMars rover will follow in May 2018, due to reach Mars by January 2019.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
