Recent press reports state that a Houston store for space
buffs is helping the Russian Space Agency find potential space tourists
who have $20 million to spare. This seems to be the going rate for space
tourists, paid by the two last space tourists, American Dennis Tito and
South African Mark Shuttleworth. The Russian space industry appear to
have decided that offering space trips to incredibly wealthy people is
a good way to continue to finance its participation in building the space
station. Vladimir Fishel, vice president of Russian programs for Spacehab,
a US spacecraft and living space manufacturer and parent company of The
Space Store, acknowledged the few wealthy people enough to pay the tab
likely would approach Russian space officials themselves. But marketing
efforts could add that extra bit of encouragement. “Russians are
in dire need of cash,” he said. “This helps not only them, but
everybody.”