Washington/Seattle - NASA will allow
private citizens to stay at the International Space Station
(ISS) for month-long getaways at a cost of about $35000 per
night, the US space agency said on Friday.
The shift reverses a long-standing prohibition against
tourists and private interests at the orbiting research lab, and
reflects a broader push to expand commercial activities at the
ISS and in space more generally.
It paves the way for private citizens to travel to the ISS
aboard rocket-and-capsule launch systems being developed by
Boeing Co and Elon Musk's SpaceX. The two companies are
set to ferry astronauts to the ISS from U.S. soil for the first
time in nearly a decade.
NASA will allow up to two private trips to the station per
year, each lasting up to 30 days, NASA said. The first mission
could be as early as 2020.
But the ride won't be cheap.
NASA estimated the cost of a flight would be around $50
million per seat. In addition, NASA will charge visitors for
food, storage and communication once at the station.
"If you look at the pricing and you add it up, back of a
napkin, it would be roughly $35,000 a night, per astronaut,"
NASA's Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit told a news conference
in New York.
"But it won't come with any Hilton or Marriott points,"
DeWit deadpanned.
NASA's Russian counterpart Roscosmos has already allowed a
number of private citizens at the station.
NASA officials also said 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 be fueled in part by revenue generated from new commercial
services and paying astronauts.
Arrangements for the trip were being left to Boeing and
SpaceX, NASA said.