In addition to the ticket price of 20 million USD, those wishing to travel to space must undergo a medical examination at a scientific center of the Russian Academy of Sciences and provide information about their relatives.
Recently, the head of the crewed space program at the Russian Space Agency, Mr. Aleksei Krasnov, announced that the list of individuals wanting to travel to space on Russian spacecraft has been arranged until 2007.
Currently, there are more than a dozen space tourists. Their identities are kept strictly confidential as part of the signed contracts. However, Russian journalists have managed to uncover some information about these special clients.
Besides the revealed names of Japanese Enomoto and Brazilian Markos Pontes (whose flights are scheduled for April and October 2006), the list of candidates includes a member of the Russian State Duma, two entrepreneurs from Siberia, and a PhD researcher from the Russian Academy of Sciences…
Among foreign applicants, the most notable is a British citizen who, in addition to owning a network of hotels in the UK, is also Prince Charles’ personal polo coach. There are also 1-2 candidates from Malaysia and South Korea.
Apart from their ability to pay (the ticket price is 20 million USD), what other qualities must space tourists have?
According to Mr. Aleksei Krasnov, individuals wishing to travel to space must undergo a medical examination at a scientific center affiliated with the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
They must bring medical certificates, information about their relatives (to check for any history of mental illness in the family), and documentation regarding any illnesses and surgeries they underwent as children. Individuals who have had a portion of their intestine removed, have had stitches in certain parts of their body, or suffer from hepatitis or coronary artery disease may be disqualified.
The main challenge for space tourists is weak vestibular systems. Initially, two Duma representatives from opposing parties came for selection. One of them failed immediately on the “spinning chair,” unable to endure the required 10 minutes of rotation on a special seat.
Sometimes, some space tourists realize they will have to undergo very rigorous tests, leading them to withdraw from their initial intentions. For instance, this happened a few years ago with famous film director James Cameron of “Titanic” fame. The Hollywood star was so shaken that as soon as he stood up from the spinning chair, he immediately ran off to buy a plane ticket back home.
Russian businessman Polonski, who had been preparing to fly since last year, was disqualified due to his height. According to medical staff, during several months of medical testing, this businessman inexplicably grew a few centimeters taller. As a result, he could not fit into the flight seat.
Almost every flight carrying space tourists has unexpected events. For example, Mac Shuttelworth was nearly removed from a flight due to losing a front tooth.
