<nettime> finally, the future

[Bill Spornitz <spornitz@mts.net>]

The Millennium was bogus. It was just so much beer foam, vomited up 
after some cheezy hormonal frat party.

It was so bogus, it's bogus stink killed the once-thriving dotcom. 
Even the *real* millennium was bogus.

This, on the other hand, is not bogus, but none other than _the future_.

To whit: The russians, a people of this rock, are doing space tourism 
for themselves ->

***
Russia plans space station for tourists
Loiterer's News Agecy

Moscow - Space tourists could be orbiting the earth in as little as 
three years' time under plans by Russia's Energiya space corporation 
and its partner MirCorp, Interfax news agency said on Tuesday.

Interfax quoted MirCorp President Jeffrey Manber as saying that under 
an agreement signed by the two companies, Mini Station 1, the first 
commercial orbital station specially designed for space tourists, 
will be built to host three cosmonauts for 20 days at a time. 
Scheduled for launch in 2004, the station would operate for 15 years 
altogether.

"The agreement is part of MirCorp's plans to
kickstart full-scale commercial space program,"
Mr. Manber said. "Mini Station 1 will allow the
creation of the first commercial structure with a
vast flight capacity, fully under our control."

Energiya officials were not immediately available for comment.


Russia has a share in the International Space Station (ISS) and sent 
the first space tourist there in May.  It sees orbital tourism as a 
means to raise badly needed funds for national space programs.

U.S. businessman Dennis Tito paid a reported $30-million (Canadian) 
for his eight-day adventure, but it sparked protests by the U.S. 
space agency NASA, which said it was not safe to have an amateur on 
the ISS before it was completed.

"It is not enough to speak about [tourist] space flights," Mr. 
Manber said.  "We need guaranteed delivery means and projects in 
which commercial clients will be a priority, rather than a marginal 
task."


Energiya owns 60 per cent of shares of MirCorp - a company created in 
2000 to raise commercial funds to save the ageing orbital station 
Mir.  The $45-million (Canadian) raised by MirCorp fell short of the 
needed sum and Mir was dumped in the Pacific Ocean in March 2001. 
Russia, which has the greatest experience of long manned flights, has 
since focused on participating in the ISS project.  Interfax did not 
specify whether MirCorp and Energiya already have sufficient funds to 
launch a new space station.

Mr.  Manber said that Russia's Soyuz spacecraft would make a stopover 
at Mini Station 1 to deliver space tourists before flying on to the 
ISS.


"On a regular flight, Soyuz can first fly to the Mini Station 1 and 
dock with it to carry out a commercial mission," he said.  "Then it 
can fly to the ISS, where the Soyuz crew will change for the already 
docked similar craft to return to earth."

Interfax quoted Mr.  Manber as saying that until Mini Station 1 is 
launched Russia would work with ISS partners to clear more commercial 
flights to the international station.



********
reprinted by the permission of a tiny green nobility

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