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Author
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Topic: Russian billionaire wants to fly to Moon; Alexei Leonov endorses his trip
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-21-2007 01:51 AM
   
From ANI (via Malaysia Sun): quote:
Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich has a very unusual plan of going for a weeklong holiday on the Moon.The owner of private investment company Millhouse Capital, may have to spend a staggering amount of 150 million pounds for travelling 500,000 miles high on the Soyuz spacecraft, designed by Sergey Korolyov for the Soviet Union's space program. Retired Russian cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov has, however, expressed surety that Abramovich will not change his plans for fear of shelling out huge money. "I talked to him about it. He wants it very much. I'm sure he'll go," the Sun quoted him as saying. Abramovich, who is famous outside Russia as the owner of English Premiership football club 'Chelsea', has a fortune worth 11 billion pounds.
Source: Roman Abramovich plans £150m holiday on the moon For those in the U.S., £150m is roughly $300M. |
SRB
Member Posts: 258
From:
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 04-21-2007 08:50 AM
Go for it! Let's get someone back to the moon! I'm all in favor of the next space race - by billionaires. Why spend $300 million on three "nice" paintings when you can be the first on Earth to pay your way to the moon? |
Astro Bill
Member Posts: 1329
From: New York, NY
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 04-29-2007 01:13 PM
I am also in favor of Mr. Abromovich realizing his dream on walking on the Moon, as long as he intends to use a Russian spacecraft. How old is Mr. Abromovich? The soonest that the US intends to return to the Moon is 2020 (13 years from now). Does Russia plan to reach the Moon earlier than that? USSR/Russia has never had a manned mission beyond the orbit of Earth. The US has had nine missions to the Moon, of which six landed. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-29-2007 01:38 PM
According to Forbes, in 2006 Abramovich was 39 and the 11th richest person in the world.At present, Russia is not planning a mission to the Moon. The flight described was the brainchild of the U.S. company Space Adventures, Ltd., which paid for the Russian engineering studies to be conducted. If funded, Space Adventures would be purchasing the hardware, mission support and launch facilities from Russia to operate the lunar fly-around mission using a modified Soyuz and Proton rocket. Space Adventures' website has more information and animation of the flight profile. The proposed mission will neither land nor enter orbit around the Moon. According to Space Adventures, from the point of booking, the flight could be made in three to four years. Candidates would need to undergo six to eight months of training. |
Space Emblem Art
Member Posts: 194
From: Citrus Heights, CA - USA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 04-29-2007 04:17 PM
So how serious a plan might this be? If serious, this would be fantastic. However, somehow I wonder if it'll fizzle like so many other grand ideas. I sure hope I'm wrong. In a way this idea, if successful, or even if seriously pursued, ties into another cS thread - the one about the U.S. rebuffing Russian offer to cooperate on moon flights. If the Russian billionaires plan comes through the U.S. will probably be all over "cooperating" with Russia. So who was it who said "if you build it they will come". Good luck with this plan and full speed ahead. Bill |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-29-2007 04:51 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Space Emblem Art:
If the Russian billionaires plan comes through the U.S. will probably be all over "cooperating" with Russia.
I really don't see the U.S. jumping on-board, other than perhaps other U.S. commercial interests. Space Adventures' lunar mission is a fly-around using a Soyuz incapable of supporting anything more than just that. There's very little a Soyuz round trip could offer the Orion Project, other than perhaps political inspiration to keep it moving forward. With the data we already have from Clementine, Lunar Prospector and in 2008, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, there should be very little need for in-person reconnaissance from lunar orbit when/if a commercial lunar fly-around mission launched. |
gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-30-2007 12:07 PM
A Malaysian newspaper reporting a story about a Russian billionaire, who lives in England, owns a football club and wants to go to the moon. How bizarre is that?
Abramovich and his ilk are the offspring of Yeltsin's "great state sell-off". I bet the average Russian (who lost out in the sell-off) is really impressed with this profligacy.Paul Bramley |
Astro Bill
Member Posts: 1329
From: New York, NY
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 04-30-2007 01:46 PM
This is a "windfall" for Russia - letting millionaires take "joy rides" on their spacecraft. We need every seat on our Shuttles and on our future missions to the Moon. But "joy rides" by US millionaires should not be ruled out AFTER a moon base has been established. If Donald Trump wants to go in 20-25 years, I am sure we will let him be an "honorary astronaut", but first he will have to go to Space Camp. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-30-2007 02:04 PM
The reality is that without selling the third seat (let alone the second to the U.S.) the Russian space program wouldn't be able to afford to launch Soyuz missions to the ISS. The funds are literally keeping the Russian manned program flying.As for any U.S.-based "joy riders", they should be well served by commercial companies such as Virgin Galactic, Rocketplane Kistler, Bigelow Aerospace and SpaceX, such that seats won't be necessary on future NASA vehicles (were their availability not already prohibited by the commercial space act). |
Astro Bill
Member Posts: 1329
From: New York, NY
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted 04-30-2007 02:20 PM
That is all good news. I have no problem with millionaires rescuing the Russian space program. It is ironic that the Russian space program, which had its beginnings in the Communist USSR, will be rescued by a capitalist and will make it possible for Russia to finally make a trip TO the Moon. |
E2M Lem Man
Member Posts: 846
From: Los Angeles CA. USA
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 05-09-2007 06:22 PM
It is funny, isn't it? It reminds me of the old sci-fi story by Robert Heinlein about the rich guy who wants to go "The Man who Sold the Moon". The timeline is probably a couple of years off but achievable. The Soviet Union looped around the Moon in 1968 with Zond spacecraft, and had the plans to land there but not the funds to throughly test the boosters and spacecraft. (i.e. N-1 rocket and Korabl landers). But if it isn't the Russians it will be the Chinese, or Europeans or India or (fill in the blank). American industry just doesn't get it, as we achieved it once already, and the politicians don't realize it... we want to go back to the Moon and this time to stay! Remember Kelly Johnson's golden rule when asked about the color black on Air Force SR-71 spy planes. "If they want it black, paint it black. He who has the gold makes the rules!" |
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