Seattle, WA – On this electrifying exploration of the Russian Space Programguests will tourStar City, Russia’s premier cosmonaut training facility, where they can participate in optional cosmonaut training. At the remote Russian launch facility on the Kazakh steppe, they’ll rub shoulders with top international space officials, space veterans and family of the next space crew, and witness the heart-stirring launch of the Soyuz on its way to the International Space Station. The exclusive 9-day tour is slated for November 25 – December 3, 2014 and starts at $14,295 per person.
After arriving in Moscow, guests will visit the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in once-classified Star City, the premier training facility for Russian cosmonauts and foreign astronauts. Next, they’ll explore the MIR Space Station simulator, visit the Soyuz-TMA integrated simulator and the ISS mock-up, learn how crews acquire the skills to walk in space, and tour the Star City Museum, containing space vehicles, simulators, space suits and a reproduction of Yuri Gagarin's office.
“We will observe the early morning roll-out of the Soyuz Rocket and follow it to the launch pad site together with the press, military personnel, cosmonauts and their relatives,” said MIR Corporation President Douglas Grimes. “The following day we will gather in a VIP seating gallery at Mission Control Center for the live satellite feed of the Soyuz docking.”
Optional cosmonaut training includes:experiencing up to 4 Gs on the world's largest centrifuge, the TsF-18; taking the ride of your life on a parabolic zero-G simulation flight; donning a Russian-engineered Orlan space suit, created especially for spacewalks; and learning to open and close hatches and complete a series of operations designed to simulate typical space tasks.