Walk in Space for $15 Million (Plus Airfare)

avtchillsboro writes "A NY Times article has details on a news release by Space Adventures Ltd. (SAL). SAL has previously provided space trips to three wealthy individuals for (US)$20 million. The article announces the $15 million EVA 'upgrade', and quotes SAL chief executive Eric Anderson, who says that the plan has been approved by the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation; but the article also says that NASA has not been informed." From the article: "Fewer than 450 people have traveled to space, and the club of spacewalkers is even more exclusive. Just 151 people have stepped outside the relative safety of their craft to greet the void with only a visor to separate life and death. 'Spacewalk is the ultimate experience that we've managed to invent as humans,' said Tom Jones, a former astronaut and spacewalker who is an adviser to Space Adventures. Being outside the craft when 'there's nothing between you and the ground below but empty space,' he said, is 'incomparable.'"

Comments

Re:NASA not informed?

[cyclone96]

You are right...while they could egress the Russian Airlock (Pirs) and hang out over on the Russian Segment, most EVAs take some advantage of NASA assets. Primarily communications - the audio from the suits is relayed through the NASA Tracking and Data Relay satellite system which essentially has global coverage. While the EVA could be done with only Russian communications assets, it would take place only over Russian groundsites (about 15 minutes every orbit of 90 minutes). There is a considerable safety margin gained with the constant communications.

Russian EVAs also take advantage of the external US television cameras, including those that are on the robotic arm. The robotic arm takes some planning and crew time to reposition, which is another NASA asset they are utilizing.

Frankly, I'm somewhat surprised the Russians are offering this. I don't think the general public quite has a sense of how complex and how dangerous EVA actually is. The suits themselves are complicated little machines, and you need a great deal of training to react to emergencies (pump failures, leaks, etc.) to keep yourself from getting killed. Additionally, most EVA astronauts go through a lot of personal training to build up upper body strength and endurance. This is because doing an EVA is physically grueling, since you are working against the pressure in the suit.

In other words, whoever goes outside really needs to know what they are doing. This is in contrast with simply riding up for the week onboard. While the trip up/down is dangerous, the customer doesn't really have to know/do all that much, except stay strapped into the seat and be trained on how to use the toilet.