[FPSPACE] Report: 2 customers for circumlunar trips?

[E.P. Grondine]

>From Edward Ellegood's space report (sorry, can't get to original story):

Space Tourism Industry is Lifting Off (Source: Christian Science Monitor)

"From the X Prize to civilian trips to the moon, private spaceflight is 
attracting more interest among investors and would-be voyagers. The first 
humans to take a swing around the moon in more than 35 years may not be NASA 
astronauts, but space tourists. That is Eric Anderson's vision. The 
president and CEO of Space Adventures says he already has his first two 
passengers, each willing to pay $100 million for a ride around the moon 
aboard a modified Russian spacecraft. If negotiations go well, the launch 
could take place in "a small number of years," he says."

I myself wouldn't spend $100 million on a private flight, but then I don't 
have $100 million.

$200 million is $200 million, and the mods are not that great. 
Perminov/Secastyanov gave the architecture, Vick had estimates of the launch 
costs, subtract and see what is left... I think it's a negative number, but 
then the money offsets development costs, and moves Russia forward, able to 
work with China in 2024 or so on CAPS...

The GDFMN ( or BChYMD) don't like this at all, but that's tough...

EP

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