First and only company to launch private explorers to spacepartners with the Russian space agency andRSC Energia to offer an expedition to the lunar far side

New York – August 10, 2005 – Space Adventures, Ltd., the world’s leadingspace experiences company, announced today the availability of acommercial spaceflight to the far side of the moon. The company, whichorganized spaceflights for the world’s first private space explorers,American businessman Dennis Tito and the ‘First African in Space’ MarkShuttleworth, disclosed the details of the mission, called DSE-Alpha,during a press conference. DSE-Alpha, the first in a series of lunar missions to be featured in SpaceAdventures’ Deep Space Expeditions (DSE) program, is made possible through the company’s long-standing partnership with the Federal SpaceAgency of the Russian Federation (FSA) and the Rocket and SpaceCorporation Energia (RSC Energia). The mission will utilize the robustSoyuz spacecraft, piloted by a Russian cosmonaut, and could launch asearly as 2008. Two commercial seats are available priced at$100,000,000 (USD) each. Before the mission is flown, the requiredresearch and development, spacecraft modifications, as well as, therequired manned and unmanned test flights will have been completed.


Moon Mission DSE-ALPHA

DSE-Alpha, the first in a series of lunar missions to be featured in Space Adventures’ Deep Space Expeditions (DSE) program, is made possible through the company’s long-standing partnership with the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation (FSA) and the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (RSC Energia). The mission will utilize the robust Soyuz spacecraft, piloted by a Russian cosmonaut, and could launch as early as 2008. Two commercial seats are available priced at $100,000,000 (USD) each. Before the mission is flown, the required research and development, spacecraft modifications, as well as, the required manned and unmanned test flights will have been completed.

“Space Adventures has the exclusive rights to market and sell the DSE-Alpha mission. We have identified over a thousand people around the world who have the financial resources to participate in an expedition to the moon, but the question remains, who among this group has the sense of exploration and adventure to undertake such a historic mission?,” said Eric Anderson, president and CEO of Space Adventures. “We have recently spoken with a few of these prospective clients and they are interested and eager to learn more. With this level of interest and enthusiasm, I have no doubt that we’ll launch DSE-Alpha by 2010.”

Earlier this year, and in coordination with FSA, Space Adventures commissioned RSC Energia to study the feasibility of a Soyuz manned mission to the moon. RSC Energia proposed two technically viable options. The first is a mission to the moon via a direct rendezvous and docking in low-Earth-orbit with an upper-stage booster and the second option would involve a multi-day visit to the International Space Station (ISS) followed by the upper-stage docking. The Direct-staged mission duration would range from eight to nine days and the ISS-staged mission duration would range from nine to 21 days.

“The long-standing reliability of the Soyuz is a testament to its continued evolution and modernization which spans back to the first decade of manned spaceflight. Knowing that the Soyuz was originally developed with manned lunar missions in mind, we were optimistic that our studies would conclude positive results on the vehicle’s feasibility to go to the moon,” said Anatoly Perminov, chief of the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation. “The required spacecraft modifications to be made are well-understood and can be implemented. This commercially funded mission is considered a valuable supplement to the agency’s overall goals for the manned spaceflight program.”

Future DSE missions plan to include lunar-orbit and lunar-surface missions. “Space Adventures continues to build upon existing technology and infrastructure to provide spaceflight opportunities to private citizens,” adds Mr. Anderson. “DSE-Alpha’s follow-on missions will lead to an eventual moon landing.”

“We’ve never been better prepared to take on a mission to the moon. With Space Adventures’ as our exclusive marketing partner, we are confident that we can implement this program on schedule,” stated Nikolai Sevastyanov, president and designer general, Rocket and Space Corporation Energia.

Space Adventures, the only company to have successfully launched private space explorers to the International Space Station, is headquartered in Arlington, Va. with offices in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Moscow and Tokyo. It offers a variety of programs such as Zero-Gravity and MiG flights, cosmonaut training, spaceflight qualification programs and reservations on future suborbital spacecrafts. The company's advisory board comprises Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, shuttle astronauts Kathy Thornton, Robert (Hoot) Gibson, Charles Walker, Norm Thagard, Sam Durrance, Byron Lichtenberg, Pierre Thuot and Skylab astronaut Owen Garriott.


How Will We Get There?

Space Adventures’ DSE-Alpha mission will take place aboard the modern Soyuz TMA spacecraft. This proven transport vehicle has delivered crews to more than three generations of space stations and supported space expeditions lasting as long as six months. The Soyuz spacecraft, and its robotic sister spacecraft, the Progress M, have established a solid performance record in low Earth orbit. However, few people know that the Soyuz was originally designed to support manned lunar missions.During the Cold War moon race between the Soviet Union and the United States, a spacecraft called the Lunar Orbital Craft, or “LOK” (its Russian acronym), was designed to orbit the moon and support lunar surface missions.

At the same time, the Soviets also had a second, smaller manned lunar program that they were developing, which consisted of a stripped-down variation of the Soyuz called the Zond. This craft was developed as part of a fast-track effort to carry a crew of two on a lunar orbital free-return-trajectory mission (one that would send the craft around the moon and back toward Earth), thereby making the Soviets the first to orbit men around the moon. Zond was essentially a Soyuz propulsion module and Soyuz reentry capsule with the orbital module removed.

Realizing that the Soviets were close to beating them in the quest to orbit the moon, the United States responded on December 21, 1968, with the Apollo 8 lunar orbital mission. The spectacular Apollo 8 victory effectively caused the Soviets to give up their plans of putting a crew in a Zond spacecraft. Although Zond was never flown manned, the program did validate that many of the components could be used in lunar missions.The Soviet manned lunar program was canceled in 1974 and remained largely unknown to the outside world until the breakup of the Soviet Union. However, a considerable amount of technology derived from that program was steadily improved and modernized, and has achieved an enviable flight history over the past 30 years. Both the Soyuz TMA and Block DM SL upper stage in use today can trace their origins back to the manned lunar effort. It is these mature spacecraft that Space Adventures intends to use in its manned lunar program, DSE-Alpha.



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


MISSION and CREW

1. When will the first flight launch?
Three years from when a client contract is signed; could be as early as 2008 timeframe.

2. Why would a private individual want to purchase a trip to the moon with Space Adventures?
A private individual would want to purchase a trip to the moon to explore deep space; to become a world class adventurer; and to set new goals in exploration. This is most adventurous trip ever! The moon is still a mystery, there are still many places to explore on its surface and there are many more discoveries to be made.

3. What are mission profiles?
The Space Adventures’ DSE-Alpha mission has two distinct flight profiles for launching a mission to the moon. The ISS-Staged profile includes up to possibly 21 days spent at the International Space Station with a five-and-one-half-day lunar flight.
The second flight profile, called Direct-Staged, is a nine-day mission with a three-day free flight in low Earth orbit and a five-and-one-half-day lunar flight segment.
Both DSE-Alpha missions use lunar boosters assembled in low-Earth-orbit and a lunar free-return flight profile, which includes circumnavigation of the moon.

4. How can three people spend nearly eight days in a Soyuz—won’t they be cramped?
No. The two-member crew of Gemini 7 spent two weeks in Earth orbit in a 2.55 m3 habitable volume. The three member-crew of Apollo 8 spent six days on their lunar mission in a 5.9 m3 habitable volume. The Soyuz can accommodate a crew of two to three and has a habitable volume of 10m3. A comparison (to the volume of a Soyuz) would be to a large SUV.

5. What sort of view of the moon should the crew aboard the Soyuz expect?
The crew will enjoy a spectacular view of the lunar landscape. It is our objective to conduct the mission when the lunar far side is illuminated. The lunar far side is dramatically different from the lunar near side due to the large amount of craters located on that side. The Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation’s (FSA) goal is to install a large window made of optical quality in the side of the orbital module. The window will help facilitate astronomy and lunar photography during the mission. The size of the window will be approximately 15 in. in diameter and 47.1 in. in circumference.

6. What is the price to participate in the mission?
The price of the mission will be $200 million (USD). (Two people can share the mission for $100 million each). Space Adventures and FSA project that all research and development, spacecraft modifications, design work, as well as, manned flight and unmanned flight testing around the moon can be accomplished for $200 million (USD).

7. Why is the cost of an FSA lunar mission so inexpensive?
In addition to the FSA’s lower labor costs, another driver is the sophisticated simplicity of the Soyuz and the serial production of all other transportation elements. Through regular production of the spacecraft and launch vehicles, the FSA has been able to make incremental improvements to the Soyuz and maintain reliability by strictly adhering to the quality control production process of a given system. Additionally, by using the Earth Orbit Rendezvous mission profile Space Adventures and the FSA do not need to go through the costly process of man-rating a large booster to carry a crew into orbit; instead, the highly reliable Soyuz transportation system will be used to send the crew into orbit and dock at the upper-stage.
The Soyuz spacecraft and booster is a mature system. The Block DM has flown over 250 of successful missions. The Soyuz and Progress have had 235 launches – with a total of four fatalities, the last occurring in 1971. The Soyuz booster has launched over 2000 times, making it the most flown 1st stage ever.

8. Does Space Adventures have the goal of eventually landing on the surface of the moon?
Yes, the Deep Space Expeditions program has the potential to eventually expand lunar flight operations to include surface missions.

9. How many humans have either orbited or landed on the moon?
Space Adventures’ client will be the 28th person to circumnavigate/orbit the moon.


LOGISTICS and SAFETY

10. Is a lunar mission safe?
Yes. The mission builds upon the proven reliability of the evolved family of Soyuz spacecraft and the Soyuz launch vehicle. Both the Soyuz spacecraft and upper-stage booster were originally developed for use in the Soviet manned-lunar program.

11. Is docking with an upper-stage booster in space safe?
For the past 40 years, since the Gemini program, there have been tens of dozens of successful manned dockings in space.

12. Could the Soyuz crash into the Moon?
No, if the Soyuz were to go off course, the spacecraft would be able to use its powerful redundant on-board propulsion system to correct its orbit.


PARTNERS and FUTURE MISSIONS

13. Will this weaken the FSA’s ability to meet their commitments to the International Space Station (ISS) program?
No. The lunar mission program will strengthen FSA’s ISS commitments by providing an additional source of income for their human spaceflight program.

14. Why has the Russian Federation renewed its interest in a manned lunar program?
FSA has always been interested in their lunar program, this private mission will provide the needed funding to allow the necessary R&D and test flights.