The Russian-made “Geophysica” was designed to be the highest flying plane in the world, able to reach an altitude of 21 kilometers, and for ten years served as a laboratory studying the upper levels of the atmosphere.
Now its developers have a whole new mission in store:
“Our goal is to send large groups of people to around 100 kilometers above ground where they will be able to see our planet and space with their own eyes,” says chief specialist Stanislav Smirnov from the aircraft constructing center in Zhukovsky in the Moscow region.
In order to achieve this goal, the developers want to use the Geophysica's ability to carry cargo attached to its body. The plane will take off carrying a small space shuttle which will be released at a certain altitude.
The Geophysica will then head back to earth, while the shuttle will transport tourists to orbit and back.
“After detaching from the plane, a rocket engine pushes the shuttle into close orbit. After spending several minutes at its highest altitude, it descends and lands at an airport,” explains chief designer Aleksandr Bruk.
The developers say they need around $200 million to put the shuttle into production. And the ticket price for passengers will be around $200,000. Already the list of people wanting to make the trip is growing.
A bigger, 14-seater version of the shuttle is also being designed. It can be carried by another plane – the Atlant, which transported the Buran, the only Soviet space shuttle in history.
It is planned that the three-seater spacecraft's crew will consist of a pilot, who will sit in front, and two passengers in the back. They will not need to go through any intense physical training with the only major test being a health check.
The whole flight from take-off to landing will take around one hour. And for five whole minutes the crew will be able see what the Earth looks like from space in zero gravity.
Rightardia comment: We saw this aircraft in action on the Discovery channel. Apprently the thunderstorms in Darwin, Australia are getting worse and the Australian government commissioned a study to study the unusual t-storms.
The Geophysicia was the only aircraft that could fly high enough to check the anvil that forms on the top of a t-storms. This aircraft has flown as high as 21360 m which is more than 13 miles high or nearly 70,000 feet.
It is the modern Russian equivalent of the U-2.
source: http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-02-03/geophysica-plane-space-tourism.html#
and http://homepage.corbina.net/~kluka/Emz/M55-e.htm
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