NASA opens the International Space Station to tourists

NASA will allow up to two private trips to the station per year, up to a maximum of 30 days.

NASA will allow individuals to stay at the International Space Station (ISS) for one-month escapes at a cost of about $ 35,000 (approximately Rs. 24,30,000) per night, the US Space Agency said. Friday.

This shift reverses a long-standing ban on tourists and private interests at the Orbiting Research Laboratory, and reflects a broader desire to expand business activities to the ISS and to space in general.

It paves the way for private citizens to get to the ISS aboard the rocket and capsule launch systems developed by Boeing and Elon Musk's SpaceX. For the first time in nearly a decade, both companies are ready to transport astronauts to the ISS from US soil.

NASA will allow up to two private trips to the station each year, each lasting 30 days, NASA said. The first mission could be as early as 2020.

But the journey will not be cheap.

NASA estimated that the cost of a flight would be approximately $ 50 million (approximately Rs. 346.9 crores) per seat. In addition, once at the station, NASA will charge visitors for food, storage and communications.

"If you look at the prices and you add up, at the back of a towel, it would be about $ 35,000 (about Rs. 24,30,000) a night, per astronaut," said Jeff DeWit, NASA's Chief Financial Officer. , at a press conference in New York.

"But he will not come with Hilton or Marriott points," Dewit deadpanned.

Roscosmos, NASA's Russian counterpart, has already authorized a number of individuals to visit the station.

NASA officials also said that opening the door to private enterprise gives the agency more room to focus on the Trump administration's goal of returning to the moon by 2024, which could to be fueled in part by revenues generated by new commercial services and to pay astronauts.

Arrangements for the trip were left to Boeing and SpaceX, NASA said.