New York (TAN): NASA is providing the perfect opportunity for tourists who seek “out of the world” experiences.
The US space agency is opening the International Space Station “for commercial business”, which includes visits by tourists and private astronauts, from 2020. The cost for tourists would be a cool USD 35,000 a night.
[ALSO READ: Guess what Hilton did to mark its 100th anniversary?]
“Nasa is opening the International Space Station to commercial opportunities and marketing these opportunities as we’ve never done before,” chief financial officer Jeff DeWit said at a news conference here.
According to the BBC, the space agency is tying up with Elon Musk’s Space X and Boeing to transport tourists to and from the International Space Station. While Space X will use its Dragon Capsule, Boeing is developing a spacecraft for the purpose. The “taxi fare” is expected to be around USD 60 million per flight.
[ALSO READ: App help for passengers who cannot hear]
NASA had built the International Space Station in collaboration with Russia in 1998.
The first private visitor to the International Space Station was American businessman Dennis Tito who paid a cool USD 20 million to the Russians for a round trip.
Though Russia has been open to the idea of commercialising the space station, this is the first time NASA is doing it.
