The company that has already arranged for three space enthusiasts to visit the International Space Station is building a global team to develop a fleet of commercial suborbital spaceships, dubbed Explorers.
On Friday, Space Adventures in Virginia, US, announced its plans to build a $265 million spaceport in the United Arab Emirates, with prospects for additional ports in Singapore and North America.
The news comes a day after Space Adventures announced its partnership with Prodea and the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation to create a fleet of suborbital space vehicles for commercial purposes. Prodea is a private investment firm located in Texas, US, founded by the Ansari family who sponsored the $10 million Ansari X Prize for private suborbital spaceflight.
"This joint venture will enable millions of people to realise their dreams of spaceflight," say Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures, and Anousheh Ansari of Prodea.
Space Adventures previously told New Scientist that its suborbital fleet was likely to be based on the Russian Myasishchev Design Bureau's Cosmopolis 21 (C-21) vehicle. The Explorer vehicles will carry as many as five people into space, giving them an opportunity to peer back at their home planet for several minutes before returning to Earth.
The C-21 is a rocket module that will hitch a ride on an aircraft called the M-55X to an altitude of about 20 kilometres. From there, it is air-launched and ignites its own engines to reach its maximum altitude.
Ansari says after reviewing the Russian Federal Space Agency's plans and given their track record, she feels "completely confident" in the Explorer fleet. "This vehicle is being developed by a group of the most qualified designers and engineers in the world that have the most experience, the highest safety standards, and are responsible for the most reliable and longest serving manned spacecraft in the world [Soyuz]."
After arranging three $20 million journeys aboard Russia's Soyuz rockets to the International Space Station, Space Adventures announced in October 2005 that it had arranged a $100,000 suborbital trip for Chinese businessman Jiang Fang. That trip is scheduled for 2007.
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10:45 10 October 2008
