Russia May Market Seats on Soyuz Flights

Russia is considering the possibility of selling seats on the Soyuz capsules that will be sent to the ISS every six months as rescue vehicles for the full-time crews. Only two crew members are required to ferry the capsules to ISS, but each capsule carries three seats to accommodate the full Station crew in an emergency. For example, the European Space Agency is currently considering launching one of its astronauts to ISS using a Soyuz capsule. One of those empty Soyuz seats might be used to fulfill the contract MirCorp/Energia has with Dennis Tito to visit Mir as a “citizen explorer.” However, both NASA and Rosaviakosmos must approve any passenger on a Soyuz flight to ISS.  
  

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