Space Adventures secures Two Seats Aboard Upcoming Flights of Soyuz TMA Spacecraft

Space Adventures has finalized contracts with the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation (FSA) for two commercial seats aboard upcoming flights of the Soyuz TMA spacecraft. The company became world renown in 2001 with the launch of California businessman Dennis Tito and since then, has launched four other privately-funded individuals to space.

Space Adventures has purchased the fall of 2008 Soyuz TMA-13 and the spring of 2009 Soyuz TMA-14 private spaceflight opportunities. Each experience includes cosmonaut training and over a week in space orbiting the Earth aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

"With the successful flights of the first and only five private space explorers, we not only created the space tourism industry, but now, because of the global market demand, we have secured two additional Soyuz seats and have proposed to the Russian space agency the purchase of seats in 2010, and beyond," said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures. "The unique provision to Space Adventures of these commercial Soyuz seats has enabled my team to engage with potential clients from all over the world who have the interest in private spaceflight, the financial capability and the insatiable desire to explore."

Space Adventures is expected to announce the identities of the next orbital spaceflight candidates in the coming weeks. "We have finalized the contracts with those who will fly on future seats, but we are always willing to speak to multiple individuals for a specific seat and encourage other interested parties to step forward and contact us, because the most willing and committed ultimately gets to go first."

Space Adventures offers a variety of programs such as the availability today for spaceflight missions to the International Space Station and around the moon, Zero-Gravity flights, cosmonaut training, spaceflight qualification programs and reservations on future suborbital spacecrafts. The company's advisory board includes Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, Shuttle astronauts Sam Durrance, Tom Jones, Byron Lichtenberg, Norm Thagard, Kathy Thornton, Pierre Thuot, Charles Walker, Skylab astronaut Owen Garriott and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachev.

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