Not to be outdone by the US and China, Russia also offers space tourism

MOSCOW – After a decade-long hiatus, Russia relaunch ambitious bid to dominate the tourism industry outer space developing in the world. Russia is trying to pique the interest of the world’s excited billionaires. Russia is also ready to compete with the United States (US) and China.

This month, Russia showcased the return of two cosmic adventurers — Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant — to the International Space Station (ISS) in the first launch of tourists in 12 years.

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Buoyed by the success, the head of Russian Aerospace Dmitry Rogozin spoke about the next steps of Russian supremacy: special modules on the ISS for Russian visitors, space travel outside the station, and trips around the moon.

“We will not give this niche to America. We are ready to fight for it,” he told reporters at a news conference as Maezawa sped toward the ISS on a 12-day mission.

However, Russia’s path to industrial dominance is littered with new obstacles that have emerged since it last entered the game a decade ago. At that time, the Russian space agency Roscosmos had a monopoly on sending curious people into space.

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That changed when US space agency NASA grounded its own space shuttle for astronauts in 2011 and took every seat to the ISS that Roscosmos had to offer for the next decade.

Then, last year, billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX appeared with its first successful ISS mission and NASA brought down Roscosmos. With reported earnings of $90 million per seat, this is a major financial blow for Russia’s cash-strapped space agency, which has been beset by budget cuts and corruption scandals.

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